Virginia Snakeroot is a common but easy to overlook low-growing herbaceous perennial that until recently this was known as Aristolochia serpentaria. It's a much, much smaller plant than our other species that was formerly in Aristolochia, the high-climbing woody vine Pipevine (Isotrema macrophyllum), which is common in the Mountains of North Carolina.

Granville Co., NC 5/16/09.

The odd, pipe-shaped flowers are usually buried under leaves at the base of the plant.

Granville Co., NC 5/16/09.

Virginia Snakeroot is a host plant for caterpillars of the Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) butterfly.

Granville Co., NC 5/16/09.