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The Gang-kou birthwort (Aristolochia zollingeriana) belongs to Aristolochiaceae (the Birthwort family). It is a perennial herb that is distributed throughout Japan's Miyako Islands and the Senkaku Islands, as well as in Taiwan, southern China, the Philippines, Malaysia, and India. It grows along coastlines and in sunny forest edges in lowland areas; it is a vine that can reach a length of about 5 m. The leaves are leathery, ranging in shape from triangular-ovate to rhomboid-cordate, with a glossy surface, and are arranged alternately. From June to August, it produces pale green to pale brown flowers in the leaf axils. The fruit is an obovate-globose capsule. It serves as a food plant for the Chinese windmill and the Common Rose. It is designated as Vulnerable (VU) on the Ministry of the Environment's Red List. In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "港口馬兜鈴", and in Chinese, it is known as "港口馬兜鈴" (gang kou ma dou ling). The Taiwanese Chinese "港口馬兜鈴" was given because it was first discovered in "Gang-kou" on the Hengchun Peninsula.
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