Aristolochia maxima (Dutchman’s Pipe)

Native from southern Mexico to Venezuela and to Martinique, this woody vine climbs by twining and can reach about 65 feet long. It grows in thickets and secondary forests, sometimes producing flower clusters low on thick stems. In Panama, small Drosophila flies pollinate its flowers and lay eggs inside them; their larvae develop in the fallen, decomposing flowers. The flowers provide breeding sites without imprisoning the flies. Fruits contain hundreds of seeds that disperse on the wind. It has naturalized in southern Florida. Photographed in Medellin, Colombia.