ARISTOLOCHIACEJS. 299 



LXXXIII. ARISTOLOCHJACE.E. 



Flowers apetalous. Calyx coloured. Stamens epigynous : anthers extrorse, often adnate 

 to the style. Ovary paracarpous, at leugth 6-3 -celled by the many-ovulate placentas cohering 

 in the axis : stigma divided. Embryo minute, in the top of fleshy endosperm. — Leaves 

 alternate, often cordate. 



Tonic, aromatic, or acrid principles are general, and several West Indian species are, as 

 medical plants, analogous to the North American Serpentaria, e.g. Aristolochia odoratis- 

 sima. A. trilobata is reputed as an antidote against the bite of serpents ; A. grandifiora 

 is poisonous. The majority of West Indian Aristolochia is confined to Cuba and Haiti. 



1. ARISTOLOCHIA, L. 



Calyx-limb irregular, usually unilabiate, inflated-tubular at the base. Anthers 6-5, subr 

 sessile in the column. Ovary 6-5-celled : style-canal conspicuous : stigma 6-3-lobed. 

 Capsule upwards septicide. — Herbs or shrubs, often twining ; stipules axillary or none ; 

 flowers usually axillary and lurid. 



Sect. Gymnolobus, Duchartr. (Howardia, A7.). — Column naked, i.e. devoid of transverse 

 appendages : anthers 6, single below the 6 stigma-lobes. — Flowers in our species solitary 

 in the axils. 



* Calyx-limb bilabiate, large. 



1. A. ring-ens, V. Glabrous, twining; leaves reniform, pedatinerved : basilar sinus 

 broadly spreading : stipules cordate-roundish, persistent ; calyx-limb bilabiate, inflexed : 

 base obovoid, longer than the constricted tube : upper lip linear-oblong, conduplicate, lower 

 somewhat shorter, roundish, contracted into a long claw. — Vahl, Symb. t. 47- — A. grandi- 

 fiora, V. (non Sw.). — Leaves 3"-5" diam. ; size of flower variable : inflated calyx-base l"-2", 

 inflexed tube 8"'-12'", upper subsessile lip 4", lower (the claw included) about 3" long, its 

 lamina 10"'-12"' diam. — Hab. Jamaica !, Pd. ; [Venezuela!, New Granada!]. 



** Calyx-lip single, peltate. 



2. A. grandifiora, Sw. Glabrous or glabrescent, twining; leaves cordate, pointed, 

 pedatinerved : basilar sinus open : stipules none ; pedicels long, bracteate about the middle ; 

 calyx-limb unilabiate, inflexed, very large : tube oblique, 6-costate, 6-gibbous at the base : 

 lip peltate, broadly ovate, irregularly undulate-crenate, entire at the base, produced at the 

 top into a long, filiform tail. — Tuss. Fl. 1. t. 27; Desc. Fl. 3. t. 157. — A. arborescens, 

 Desc. A. gigas, Lindl. A. fceteus, Lindl. — Leaves 3"-5" diam. ; flowers variegated-purple, 

 very variable in size : lip 8"-4" (-2") long, twice as long as the inflated, erect portion of 

 the tube, the tail a foot to several inches long. — Hab. Jamaica !, all coll. 



3. A. odoratissima, L. Glabrous, twining ; leaves cordate, pointed, pedatinerved : 

 basilar sinus open : stipules oval, subpersistent ; calyx-limb unilabiate, inflexed above the 

 inflated base :. constricted tube-portion short : lip peltate, cordate-oblong, longer than the 

 tube, mucronate. — Si. t. 104./. 1 ; Desc. Fl. 5. t. 356. — A. glaucescens, Kth. (Nov. Gen. 

 2. t. 115) has the same flower. — Leaves 4"-5" long; inflated base of the calyx-limb 6"'-8'", 

 cylindrical reflexed portion 6'", lip \\"-2\", mucro 2'" long. — Hab. Jamaica !, Pd., Macfi, 

 I>ist., March ; [Panama I, Venezuela I]. 



*** Calyx-lip single, unilateral, distinct from the truncate tube. 



4. A. barbata, Jacq. Stem twining, glabrescent ; leaves cordate-oblong, bluntish, pe- 

 datinerved, puberulous beneath : basilar sinus open : stipules none ; calyx-limb incurved, 

 infundibular above, abruptly unilabiate at its truncate mouth : lip short, roundish, con- 

 tracted at the base, devoid of a terminal appendage, internally pilose above the middle. 

 — Jacq. Ic. Rar. t. 608.— Leaves 3" long ; inflated base of the calyx -limb 8'", upper portion 

 of the tube 12'" long, lip 6'" diam. : tube purple-variegated, enlarged from the middle, 

 8"'-10'" diam. at its moutb: lip black at the pilose part. — Hab. Trinidad !, Cr., at S. 

 Anns ; [Venezuela]. 



5. A. trilobata, L. Stem twining, glabrescent ; leaves Z-lobed, truncate or subcor- 



