Behind the complex beauty of the unusual flowers of Aristolochia elegans (better known as the Dutchman's pipe) lies a menace to one of Australia's prettiest butterflies, the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly.
I photographed these extraordinary blooms on tour in Scandinavia, in the glasshouses of the Oslo Botanic Garden, in Sweden. The pendulous scarlet faces opening from exotic buds mesmerised the group, and the chorus of oohs and aahs prompted me to find out more. I found a tragic tale.<...
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