You have to love a flower that looks like it could be singing. Or quacking. Creating some kind of floral music, at least. California Dutchman’s Pipe’s flowers appear when their vine is but bare stems, looking like someone hung bulbous little ornamental flowers all over a stack of twigs.
Later in the year, the plant will present its leaves to the sun, possibly feeding a host of pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor) caterpillars in the process. It will develop interesting seed pods to hang among the leaves, becoming a rambling green vine until fall, when it will once again drop its leaves and prepare for a January surprise.
Our plant gets no water from us, although its roots could be filching a water supply from a neighbor. It started in between the house and the fence where it only got direct sun at noon, then grew up the fence where it could get more sun. It seems to be exploring another direction where it might find another sunny spot to its liking.
California Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia californica) is available sporadically at native plant nurseries. You can contact your local chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) to see if anyone has plants or knows a good source. It has become much more available than in the past, and it’s definitely worth planting where it can ramble along as it likes.