Pipevine

Pipevine, so named because its blooms resemble the shape of a Meerschaum  pipe, was commonly grown before the days of air conditioning.  Its beautiful heart-shaped leaves (like those of a morning glory) densely covered arbors, under which ladies in long skirts sipped lemonade in welcome shade on stifling hot summer days.

I grow it because it is one of only two caterpillar foodplants in Illinois for the lovely pipevine swallowtail.  The native pipevine is Aristolochia tomentosa, or woolly pipevine.  The other larval foodplant is snakeroot, A. serpenteria.  I have grown both species, though more successful with the former.  I see the latter species more commonly in southern Illinois, and the former species scattered throughout the state, usually in dry shady areas.  However, pipevine will do just fine in full sun also.  It's a twiner and will twine around a chain link fence or anything else similar.  If left to its own devices, it can climb to the top of a large tree.

I had one plant that covered the crown of a mature crab apple, smothering it in time.  I was torn between leaving the vine in place to provide caterpillar and bird nesting habitat or cutting it to save the tree.  However, the tree had lived a long productive life. When the ice storm several years ago weighted down the tree, most of the branches broke and I had no choice but to cut the tree down.  Pipevine suckers up to 20' from the parent plant.  Suckers are easily controlled via mowing.  If you wait to mow, the new suckers will grow several inches, providing tender young leaves on which the female butterflies prefer to lay their orange eggs.  Every time I would mow, I would check the suckers and rescue eggs and caterpillars.  Now my husband does the mowing (YEEHAH!!), so I have to remember to check.

Pipevine is not that easy to find, nor is it commonly grown these days.  Those who are into native plants (i.e., IL Native Plant Society, http://www.ill-inps.org/) grow it.  If you grow pipevine, eventually the pipevine swallowtail butterfly may show up.  "Plant it and they will come."  I've done that with all 6 of our native swallowtail butterfly species:  planted their caterpillar foodplants and eventually I would see either caterpillars or butterflies of those species.

Here's another useful link about pipevine with a marvelous photo of a plant covering an arbor:
http://www.nababutterfly.com/pipevine.html

One thing I've wanted to do for decades is plant pipevine "nearby."  Hmm, it wasn't too hard with persimmons.....

P.S.  "Now for something completely different:"  I just saw a sulphur butterfly flying by on this late November day.  It's 57 degrees out!