Aristolochia fimbriata

White-veined hardy Dutchman's pipe is a subtropical herbaceous perennial in the pipevine family (Aristolochiaceae). The plant is a native of Bolivia, Brazil, and northeast Argentina. The genus name is a compound of two Greek words: aristos, meaning "best," and locheia, meaning "childbirth." This references the flower bud's resemblance to a human fetus. The species epithet is Latin for "fringed," which describes the flower. 

The creeping or sprawling herbaceous perennial prefers morning sun and afternoon shade. It will tolerate full shade and can tolerate full sun with adequate watering. Rich or sandy well-drained soil is preferred. It propagates by self-sowing of seeds from the previous season. It dies back and goes dormant in winter. While it is hardy down to zone 7 in cold climates it can be grown as an annual. 

This deciduous groundcover grows 6 to 12 inches in height and spreads about 2 or 3 feet. New shoots are produced from the buds that sit at ground level atop a tuberous root system. The delicate foliage is heart-shaped and green with showy silver veining. Small, fragrant, speckled flowers resemble a trumpet-shaped clay pipe with a fringe of thread-like hairs at the opening. This prostrate mounding plant has green, wiry stems. Unlike most of its pipevine kin, it is not a twining vine and will not climb a trellis. It is sometimes grown as a houseplant with the top portion of the tuberous root exposed above ground to give added interest.

The pipevine swallowtail butterfly uses the plant as a food source. Their caterpillars will strip the above-ground growth of the plant in mid-summer. and the adult butterflies will return to lay more eggs. When the new caterpillars emerge in the spring they feast on the tuberous roots. If swallowtail larval browsing is too heavy consider planting one of the larger pipevines.  

It is drought- and deer-resistant and works well in shady spots that could use a bright pop of color with its silvery leaves. The trailing form looks beautiful hanging from hanging baskets or cascading over a garden wall.