Compilation
Pararistolochia goldieana

A forest climber to 7 m long from a thickened rootstock, occurring in Sierra Leone, N and S Nigeria, Fernando Po and E Cameroun.The Igbo name, ekommili, is derived from εko, bellows; mmili, water or anything soft, weak or fragile: hence ‘fragile bellows’. The miniature flowers before the perianth splits open resemble primitive bellows used by local black smiths. The Edo name is of more fanciful origin. Ugbogiorimi is a compound word from ugbo, a grove or field; ogie, a king; orimi, a corpse or the dead: hence ‘The grove of the King of the Dead’. The meaning of this is not known. Some say it is on account of the smell of decaying flesh of the mature flower. Another version is that the opened flower is the haunt of a small venomous viper that uses the smell to attract its prey (2). Ugbogielimi, also an Edo name, is after the name given to the black hat of the mother of Ovia, the founder of a secret society amongst the Edo people (3).The plant is cultivated in hot houses (1) in temperate countries.