Tas. 4361. 
ARISTOLOCHIA aneuicipa. 
Snake- Aristolochia, or Birthwort. 
Nat. Ord. ArISTOLOCHIACE®.—GYNANDRIA HEXANDRIA. 
Gen. Char. (Vide supra, Tas. 4221.) 
ARISTOLOCHIA anguicida; caule volubili striato, foliis brevi-petiolatis cordato- 
acuminatis basi sinu profundo angusto, stipulis cordato-rotundatis amplexi- 
caulibus, pedunculis axillaribus solitariis unifloris flore longioribus, perian- 
thii tubo basi inflato globoso reliquo infundibuliformi ore dilatato obliquo, 
labio deflexo e basi dilatata lineari-attenuato tubo sublongiore. 
ARISTOLOCHIA anguicida. Jacq. Ameen. p. 232. t. 144. Linn. Sp. Pl. p. 1362. 
H.B.K. Nov. Gen. Am. 0.2. p. 166. Spreng. Syst. Veget, v. 3. p. 751. 
A singular and very little known species of Birthwort, native 
of New Grenada. Jacquin discovered it at Carthagena. Our 
Collector, Mr. Purdie, sent it to the Royal Gardens of Kew, 
where it first flowered in December, 1845. As the natives of 
North America employ the 4. serpentaria (which M. Bosc says 
is one of the most active sudorifics known) for destroying 
serpents, and also for curing persons bitten by those reptiles, so 
the natives of South America (New Grenada) employ this for 
similar purposes. “The juice of the root,” according to Jacquin, 
“mixed with the saliva by mastication, renders powerless a 
serpent of moderate size, if one or two drops are put into the 
mouth of the creature, when it may be handled for several 
hours and put into the bosom with impunity; but after a time 
the animal recovers: a larger quantity, however, occasions its 
death.” Jacquin attributes to the odour of the root the faculty 
of driving away serpents when they approach this plant; and | 
he also relates that the juice, applied to the recent bite of a 
serpent, or taken internally, infallibly cures the patient. 
Descr. Stems long, slender, twining, striated. Zeaves distant, 
on rather long, slender petioles, two to four inches long, cordato- 
acuminate, with a deep sinus at the base, entire. Sfipules large, 
between cordate and rotundate, amplexicaul. Peduncles axillary, 
solitary, almost as long as the leaf, bearing a single flower, in 
MARCH Ist, 1848. 
