CHENOPODIACEiE. 815 A RISTOLOCHIA. 



A. Canade'nse. 



Lea»es 2, broad-reniform ; ca/j/i woolly, deeply 3-cleft, the seorments re- 

 flected. A small, acaulescent plant, growing in rich, shady soil. The leaves 

 are radical, large, 2 — 4 inches long and 3 — 5 wide, with a deep sinurs at base, 

 on long, hairy stalks, and having a soft velvet-like surface. The flower 

 grows from between the bases of the leaf-stalks, solitary, on a nodding 

 peduncle, and is close to the ground, sometimes even buried just beneath the 

 surface. Calyx purplish, of 3, broad, long-pointed divisions abruptly spread- 

 ing. The 12 filaments bear the anthers on their sides just below the extremity. 

 The root or rhizoma is aromatic, and has been considered uselul in whooping- 

 cough. May — July. Per, ^sarnbacca. Ji'ild Ginger. 



2. ARISTOLO'CHIA. 

 Calyx ligulate, wilh an inflated base and an unequal border; 

 anthers 6, sub?essile upon the style; stigma G-cleft; capsule 

 6-ceiled, many-seeded. 



Gr. aQio-roi, excellent, >lo;^^£o5, pertaining to parturition ; in reference to 

 the supposed medicinal properties of some of the species. Stem erect or 

 twining. 



A. Serpenta'ria. 



Leaves cordate, oblong, acuminate ; stem flexuous ; peduncles radical. Root 

 fibrous. Stems several, mostly simple, 6 — 12 inches high. Leaves entire, 

 3-nerved, stalked. Flower-stalks radical, bracteate, with flowers of a dull 

 purple color. Native of the Middle and Southern States. Cultivated oa 

 account of its value in medicine. The dried root is kept in shops and has an 

 aromatic odor like Valerian, a warm, bitter, pungent taste, some like camphor, 

 and is stimulating, diaphoretic and tonic. Jn. Per. Virginian Snulce-ioot. 



ORDER CVIII. CHENOPODIACEiE. The Goose-foot Tribe. 



Cal. — Deeply divided, often tubular at base, imbricate in estivation. 



Sta. — From the base of tbe calyx, as many as its lobes or fewer, and opposite to them. 



Ova. — 1, with 1 ovule attached to its base witliin. Styles2 — 4, rarely 1. 



». — A utricle. Embryo usually curved around fleshy albumen. 



Herbs or undershrubs. Leaves alternate (rarely opposite), without stipules. Flowers 

 inconspicuous. The species are often maritime plants, and more generally weeds, 

 abounding in the northern temperate zone. 



Properties. Some are useful for food, as the beet, mangel-wurtzel, orache, stpinach, 4"^. 

 Others contain an essential oil, which renders them tonic, antispasmodic and anthelmintic : 

 as Chenopodium botrys, C. ambrosioides, C. anthelminticum ; the latter yields the oflicinal 

 wor7n-seed oil. Salsoli, Salicornia and other sea-side species yield soda from their aslies 

 in great abundance. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



I Fruit partly in- f Seed lenticular. Chenopodium. 7 



< vested in calyx. | Seed reniform. Beta. 8 



f Stamens 5... ( Fr. wholly invested in cal. Lvs. subulate. Salsola. 2 



\ 1 Styles 1. Leafless plants. . Salicornia. 1 



rail perfect, f Stamens 1—2 | Styles 2. Leafy plants. . . Bhtiim. 6 



J dicEcious. ( Stigmas sessile. Leaves ovate-lanceolate. . Acnida. 4 



j Stamens 5. ( Stig. on capillary styles. Lvs. hastate-lanceolate. Spiiiacia. 3 



Flowers I polygamous. Stamens 5 Airipk-x. 5 



