Aristolochiaceae. Birthwort Family. 
Low herbs or twining shrubs, frequently aromatic. Leaves alternate or 
basal, commonly broad, entire, cordate or kidney-shaped, without stipules. 
Flowers solitary or Clustered, perfect. Perianth petaloid, commonly 3 or 6 
lobed, regular or irregular. Stamens 6-12, united with the style. Ovary 
inferior, at least in part, 6-chambered, placentae parietal. Fruit a 6- 
Chambered capsule. 
Asarum L. Wild Ginger, 
Acaulescent herbs, the leaves verninal on slender, branching, 
>crecping rootstocks; flowers solitary, evigeous and inconspicuouss 
——? verianth brovmish, 5-lobeds; stamens 12, Fruit a rather fleshy capsule, 
i. Ae caudatum Lindl. Wild-—Ginger. >botstocks 20-25 cm. long, 
branching, Slender, fragrant with the odor and taste of ginger; leaves several , 
in pairs, persisting for two years, the petioles 10-15 cm long, sparsely 
villous, the blades cordate to reniform, the lobes rounded, the sinus 23 cm. 
deep, both surfaces sparingly pubescent, the margins ciliate; flowers Solitary, 
borne in the axils of the paired leaves, the peduncle 3-4 cm. long, villous; 
perianth segments oblong, 2-2.5 cm. long, each bearing two white areolae within 
the cup,Spreading in the upper half and purple, acuminate into a tail 4-5 om. 
long, which is reddish and pubescent; anthers 2.5 m. long, recurved-appressed , 
purple, the tip of the connective very short; styles united, the colum 4-5 mm 
tall. 
Common throughout our range in Shaded, moist woods, 2500-5000 feet. 
According to Geyer, the Indians used the stems as a Spice, boiling them with 
other food; the tails of the petals are infolded in bud. 
