This impressive, perennial shrub has a very uncommon disappearance due to the special florescences. The colour of the blossoms isn't very conspicuous but its chalice-like, bag-shaped guise and the arrangement of the blossoms in the axils in a kind of whorl is very elegant and graceful. This blossom shape is called 'basin trap flower' as it invites the most diverse insects for pollination and captivates them in the basin until pollination has taken place. Until then, the 'trap' opens and the insect can escape loaded with pollen. The plant, thereby, is a good food source for many useful insects in the garden.
Due to the blossom shape, European birthwort is also known as pipevine. Its blossoms inspired many artists of the epoch of art nouveau.
The botanic name Aristolochia can be loosely translated with 'sublime for the delivering woman'. This naming indicates the usage of European birthwort in midwifery. As early as in the 1st century, it has already been mentioned as such by Dioscurides. Another usage that's also handed down by North American Indian tribes is as an antidote for snake bites. Unfortunately, the plant contains the poisonous Aristolochic acid, which is evidently nephrotoxic and carcinogenic, in all plant parts. In Germany, therefore, remedies with Aristolochia parts are prohibited since 1981.
Visually, however, European birthwort is an adornment and should, therefore, nevertheless, have a fixed place in the garden. Due to its history, it's still an inherent part of monastery gardens and perfectly suits a special cottage garden.
Aristolochia clematitis seeds, content: Approx. 10 European birthwort seeds
