The name Aristolochia probably came from the Greek for "best childbirth", Aristolochia clematitis having the name Birthwort in English. Though many members of the genus have been used in medicine in both Europe and Asia they have been found in recent years to have a toxicity to the kidneys and tendency to cause cancer that makes them unusable. This toxicity is due to alkaloids such as aristolochic acid, an unusual nitro-substituted alkaloid.
The first plants were scrambling over a thorny shrub by the roadside on the way eastwards from Maro.
This is a pipevine fruit on the same plant.
Attached to the shrub was what appeared to be a small wasp nest.
By the Torre de Maro I encountered another colour form of this species. The true colour is a little darker than it seems in these pictures, due to the camera not coping with the strong sun. The pale parts were a dark beige. The dark purple forms were growing within a few paces of these.
