European birthwort Aristolochia clematitis

Features

Perennial.

Species	Perrenial
Living space	Bright forest, Cultivated areas, Field, Meadow, Treeline
Size	30-70 cm

Description

It is an unpleasantly fragrant species. The upright stem is not branched. It is leafy with alternately arranged stalked leaves with a deep heart-shaped bottom. Up to 10 cm long leaves are bare. Some bilaterally symmetrical yellow flowers bloom in their foliage. The tubular flowers are belly-shaped at the base and act as a trap for pollinators. Pollinators are attracted by the scent through a narrow tube to the pistil and anthers placed in the ventral chamber at the base of the flower. Only here can the guest turn around and pollinate the flower, and then crawl unharmed down the pipe back into the open. The hanging pear-shaped fruits are green. It is poisonous. It thrives in the lowlands, so it is more common in the northeastern and southwestern part of Slovenia. In folk medicine, it was used to treat wounds mainly in domestic animals.