English: Pelican flower.
Region: Central America, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala to southern Mexico; Caribbean, West Indies; introduced in Florida.
Habitat: along streams, in secondary-growth, wet thickets, on steam banks; elevations up to 600 metres; prefers a well-drained, humus-rich, loamy soil, full sun or partial shade.
Ecology: food source for swallowtail butterfly larvae.
Content; terpenes; aristolochic acid, carcinogenic; alkaloids, bisbenzylisoquinolinic, 8-benzylberberinic; essential oils, α-phellandrene, linalool, germacrene D, γ-elemene, trans-nerolidol, geraniol.
Use: ornamental; food source; traditional medicine.

BotanyHerb, shrub; long, slender, vigorous climber, vine; twining stems 3 metres or more long, climbs into other plants for support, often covering medium-sized trees; poisonous to some mammals; vine; short lived.
Leaves: simple; large; thin; cordate; up to 25 cm wide.
Flowers: one of the world's largest flowers; smells like rotting feet, attracting flies; axillary; heart shaped; 10 to 20 cm wide, tails up to 60 cm long; green, white with purple, brown veins, centre darker coloured; three sections, utricle, tube and limb; flowers all year round.
Pollination: by breeding flies.