White-veined hardy Dutchman's pipe is a subtropical herbaceous perennial in the pipevine family (Aristolochiaceae). The plant is a native of Bolivia, Brazil, and northeast Argentina. The genus name is a compound of two Greek words: aristos , meaning "best," and locheia , meaning "childbirth." This references the flower bud's resemblance to a human fetus. The species epithet is Latin for "fringed," which describes the flower. The creeping or sprawling herbaceous perennial prefers morning sun and afternoon shade. It will tolerate full shade and can tolerate full sun with adequate watering. Rich or sandy well-drained soil is preferred. It propagates by self-sowing of seeds from the previous season. It dies back and goes dormant in winter. While it is hardy down to zone 7 in cold climates it can be grown as an annual. This deciduous groundcover grows 6 to 12 inches in height and spreads about 2 or 3 feet. New shoots are produced from the buds that sit at ground level atop a tuberous root system. The delicate foliage is heart-shaped and green with showy silver veining. Small, fragrant, speckled flowers resemble a trumpet-shaped clay pipe with a fringe of thread-like hairs at the opening. This prostrate mounding plant has green, wiry stems. Unlike most of its pipevine kin, it is not a twining vine and will not climb a trellis. It is sometimes grown as a houseplant with the top portion of the tuberous root exposed above ground to give added interest. The pipevine swallowtail butterfly uses the plant as a food source. Their caterpillars will strip the above-ground growth of the plant in mid-summer. and the adult butterflies will return to lay more eggs. When the new caterpillars emerge in the spring they feast on the tuberous roots. If swallowtail larval browsing is too heavy consider planting one of the larger pipevines. It is drought- and deer-resistant and works well in shady spots that could use a bright pop of color with its silvery leaves. The trailing form looks beautiful hanging from hanging baskets or cascading over a garden wall.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 6 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Creeping; Mounding; Multi-stemmed; Prostrate
Leaf color
Blue; Gray/Silver; Green; Variegated
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf shape
Cordate; Reniform
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
The leaves are blue green, heart-shaped, and marked with silver veins. The foliage is spaced along a wiry stem.
Flower color
Brown/Copper; Gold/Yellow; Green; Red/Burgundy
Flower value
Fragrant; Long Bloom Season
Flower form
Solitary
Flower shape
Trumpet
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
1 inch long, and the trumpet is shaped like a clay pipe with tenticles on the end. The green tubes develop along the stem and at the opening flairs out to reveal mottled yellowish-brown to yellowish-maroon interiors. They bloom all summer.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Black; Brown/Copper
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit detail
Immature fruits are attractive green oval and ribbed resembling tiny watermelons. At maturity, they dry and split open to release small, disc-shaped seeds.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
The stems are green, wiry, and prostrate.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
Argentina Northeast, Bolivia, Brazil South, Paraguay, Uruguay
Distribution
Introduced: Transcaucasus
Wildlife value
Larval host plant for the Pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor) . In the south and southwest regions, the butterfly most commonly appears in late summer through fall. Adult Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies feed solely off of flower nectar from other plants like azaleas, thistles, verbena, lupines, and lilacs.
Attracts
Butterflies
Host plant for
Pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor)
Play value
Wildlife Larval Host
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Hanging Baskets; Houseplants; Rock Wall; Vertical Spaces; Woodland
Landscape theme
Butterfly Garden; Drought Tolerant Garden; Rock Garden