THE PELICAN PLANT 



'VTOW and then, in the larger conservatories, one may come 

 ^ upon the curious peHcan plant (Aristolochia gigas) in 

 blossom. The flowers are worth going some distance to see 

 for they are among the largest and most remarkable in the 

 plant kingdom. In general shape they are not unlike the 

 blossoms of the common Dutchman's pipe (Aristolochia sipho) , 

 a hardy vine native to the Mississippi valley, that is often 

 planted for shade and ornament about porches, arbors and the 

 like, but nobody who has seen only the small greenish flowers 

 of this latter species can imagine those of its gigantic tropical 

 relative. A few" other flowers may possibly exceed it in the 

 total spread of their parts, but if the measurements of our 

 plant are taken across the widest part only, no other flower 

 can equal it. Good specimens may measure nearly five feet 

 across, these figures, of course, including the long slender, 

 tail-like continuation of the corolla. Exclusive of the ''tail," 

 the broad, trumpet-shaped limb, as the border of the corolla 

 is called, is frequently two feet long and a foot wide. We 

 can quite believe the report that the children in the plant's 

 native country often, in play, use the flowers for caps. They 

 are certainly large enough for the purpose. 



Viewed from the front, the flower has little to suggest 

 the common name of the plant, but a side view presents a very 

 striking resemblance to some large bird with neck bent and 

 head reposing on its breast. The general color is a pale 

 creamy white with the exception of the opening to the flower 

 and the region immediately surrounding it, which is deep 

 maroon. This latter color also spreads out in a network of 



