Aristolochia californica

Northern California endemic representative of the incredible pipevine genus. For those with an interest in evolutionary life history, or who love to bore their friends with biology fun facts there is a lot to love here. The pairing of distinct pipe-shaped flowers and musty odor may be an example of plant life imitating human life, but scientists instead tend to think it has something more to do with attracting fly pollinators through deception, with the confounding curves ensuring enough time spent to ensure a pollen packet pickup. Then there's the fact that this plant provides the sole food source for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly, whose caterpillars use the ingested toxin of the leaves as a defense mechanism. For the less trivia inclined, the elegantly arrowhead shaped leaves and intriguing purple and beige striped flowers are sure to be reward enough.