Aristolochia grandiflora
Aristolochia grandiflora
Aristolochia grandiflora, in English sometimes referred to as Large-flowered Large-flowered flower or pipe Dutchman's pipe, is a species of the genus of the pipes Flowers ( Aristolochia ), whose range extends from Central America to northern South America. With a maximum total length of several meters, the flowers are the largest of all Central American plant species and are among the largest flowers in the world. The flower goes through a multi-day fertilization cycle, initially lured into flying into the interior of the flower, keep trapped there for a day and then released.
- 3.1 pollination
- 3.2 Relationship to other animals
Description
Habitus and sheets
Aristolochia grandiflora is a long -growing, twining climber. The older shoots are corky and stiff. The simple, dark green leaves are ovate - cordate, to acuminate at the tips pointed, at the base strongly cordate, 8-15 cm wide and 10-20 cm long. The upper leaf surface is smooth, the lower leaf surface is hairy striegelig in young leaves and in older leaves also smooth and slightly lighter. Unlike other species of the genus no apparent stipules occur.
Flower
The strongly zygomorphic, hermaphrodite and vorweiblichen flowers stand singly in the leaf axils, the pedicels have a support sheet. During the heyday she temporarily strong smell of carrion. Composed of a sepal calyx is bent twice striking 12 to 20 cm long and usually has a diameter of 20 to 50 cm, occasionally more. At the top of the leaf lip is provided with one to several meters long extension. The total length of the flower including extension may exceed 4.5 m. Due to the bending of the cup is divided into several areas. Directly on the flower stalk depends of the so-called vessel containing the stamen and scars column. This is molded drop-shaped and bumpy and about 6 to 18 cm long. The subsequent reuse projects with a mouth obliquely upwards into the boiler. The mouth is cylindrical and up to 4 cm long, the upward-facing Reuse is about 7 to 15 cm long. The input between lip and Reuse (also called the annulus ) is thin and sharp. The lip connects directly to the annulus and Reuse, is purple, white, yellow, red and green marbled; the inside of the flower is deep purple. The sechslappige scars column is crown-shaped, about 1.5 cm high and 1 cm wide. The six anthers are the same distance from the grain column.
Fruit
The fruit is a cylindrical, 10 cm long and 4 cm wide capsule. She jumps pointed downward directed, scheidewandspaltig with six doors and includes a high number of seeds, which are arranged in vertical rows. The seeds are triangular, flat, depressed horizontal, approximately 1 cm wide and 1.2 cm long and have a thickness of about 2 mm. In the seed, there is a rudimentary basal embryo is in abundant endosperm.
Dissemination and locations
The distribution area of Aristolochia grandiflora ranges from Mexico through Central America to Panama and Colombia, it occurs mainly on the Atlantic coast of Central America, but is also found on the Pacific coast. Furthermore, it is native to Cuba, Jamaica, and Trinidad; the occurrence on St. Thomas, Guadeloupe and Martinique are possibly feral crops.
The sites are usually located in moist thickets, often on river banks. She climbs on medium high trees and partially covers almost completely. Mainly they can be found in the " Tierra Caliente " said warm altitudes less than 600 meters, where it is a common plant of the secondary forest. The plants at altitudes up to 1000 meters, in extreme cases, however, rarely grow up to 1300 meters.
Ecology
Pollination
Pollination is by a complex mechanism that period of several days fly lures, imprisons and last leaves open again. Just one day before the opening of the flower flows from a carrion -like odor, which intensifies with the opening of the flower in the early morning on.
On the first day of bloom Reuse and lip at an angle of about 28 ° to the axis of the boiler, so that the flying insects is favored. At this time, the flower in the female flowering stage, that is, the scar is fertile, but the anthers are still closed and do not release any pollen. The trichomes in the Reuse are directed inwards and stiff and rigid so that insects can indeed penetrate into the interior of the flower, but not again return. At the upper end of the boiler, the fabric is translucent, so that a kind of window is created, through which light is incident and the visitors continued lures inside the flower.
Observations showed that immediately after opening of the flower visit especially beetles and small flies from the family of scuttle flies ( Phoridae ) the bloom. Later in the morning, however, are mainly larger flies from the families of blowflies ( Calliphoridae ), scavenger flies ( Sepsidae ), skipjack flies ( Muscidae ) and shyness flies ( Heleomyzidae ) and continue to scuttle flies to the flowers. In the afternoon of the first day the flower visitation rate decreases dramatically, but the flower remains open until the next day.
On the morning of the second day of the flower, the Chartreuse, and the lip of the flower tilts forward so that they are at an angle of about 60 ° to the axis of the boiler. In addition, the trichomes place inside the bloom on the inner wall and the tissue at the upper end of the boiler darkens. This makes it possible that the captive fly the flowering can leave. Beetles, which are located within the flower, they can not rely mostly. The carrion smell of the flower is almost completely gone at this point. The then already popped anthers release the pollen with which the flies are covered when flying out from the plant and so can fertilize another flower.
On the third day of the flower it begins to wilt very quickly drops from the plant or begins with the self-digestion. The fallen blossom dries very quickly, usually within two days off. Whether and how beetles, which are still in bloom, can get out of this and also contribute to pollination, is unclear.
Relation to other animals
Aristolochia grandiflora is one of the food plants of the caterpillars of different species of butterfly genus Parides and the nature Battus chalceus, which all belong to the family of Swallowtail Butterfly ( Papilionidae ). Investigations on the spread of a virus disease in Honduran banana plantations aphids Aphis gossypii the kind were discovered on the back of open flowers and on the undersides of the leaves of Aristolochia grandiflora and so identified as a possible intermediate host in the transmission of the disease.
System
Aristolochia grandiflora is placed within the genus Aristolochia comprehensive about 500 species in the subgenus Aristolochia. Within this subgenus the species forms the center of Aristolochia grandiflora complex to continue the species Aristolochia Aristolochia pichinchensis and gorgona be attributed. All species of this complex have a chromosome number. For a long time these species have been filed with the Howardia series, which includes the American species of the subgenus. Phylogenetic studies could not confirm this classification, so that the series was split into two new-world series. The following cladogram of the genus Aristolochia shows a possible classification of Aristolochia grandiflora complex, but the results are not yet fully saved as. The genus Euglypha seems to form a Schwesterklade to Howardia series, however, some species have been removed from this series, so this remains (per parte) only partially.
Euglypha
Series Howardia per parte
Series Aristolochia sensu stricto
Series Thyrsicae
Aristolochia linderi
Series Einomeia
Aristolochia pichinchensis
Series Aristolochia gorgona
Aristolochia grandiflora
Use
Reports - often shamanistic and scientifically unsubstantiated - medical uses of Aristolochia grandiflora are varied, so the plant is among others against asthma, depression, malaria, rheumatism, constipation, menstrual cramps, cholera, yellow fever, mania, tetanus, and syphilis, as well as diseases the liver used. With the known use as an antidote for snake bites.
Medical studies in mice showed that an extract of Aristolochia grandiflora in about 30 % of the trials neutralized the effect of the poison of belonging to the family of Bothrops atrox snake pit vipers. Furthermore, it was reported that the roots of pigs and other animals are to be toxic.
All drugs of the genus Aristolochia, including homeopathic dilutions to D10 are due to the high genotoxic, carcinogenic in particular, and beyond nephrotoxic potential of the substance group contained the aristolochic as questionable ( Delisting, Pharm Ztg No 28 of 7.9.1981, p 1374 ). According to § 5 AMG ( Law on Traffic with medication), it is forbidden to bring as critical current drugs on the market or apply to humans.