PLANTS THAT KIDNAP 145 
wine colour. The full blossom is not unlike a kite 
in shape, with a tail about eighteen inches long. 
The most frequent victims of the goose-plant’s 
diabolical lures are flies and crawling insects. They 
are attracted by the seductive odour which lures 
them into the long throat, from which they never 
escape. There is a deep, slippery lining in the 
throat, and the way in is very easy; but, owing to 
a steeply inclined phalanx, there is no way out; and 
the deceived insect, after having distributed the 
pollen from the male to the female flower, must die 
a hopeless prisoner. 
A cousin to the goose-plant, and one equally 
famed for its kidnapping proclivities, is the Aris- 
tolochia clematitis. Its deceived prisoners are held 
sometimes for a period of two days; but when their 
work is done they are set free. The insect enters 
through a narrow tube which is lined with tiny 
daggers pointing downward. When he has drunk 
his fill and would depart, he finds the passageway 
closed by the impassable row of sharp points. In 
captivity he must remain until the flower is ready 
for his services. Finally the barrier dries up and, 
shrinking, gives the deluded wanderer a chance to 
escape. 
Another Aristolochia (A. macrophylla), com- 
monly known as the pipe vine or Dutchman’s pipe, 
