Ahistolochia. cV. ARISTOLOCHIACE^. 46S 



SUBCLASS III. APETALiE. 



Corolla none ; the floral envelops consisting of a single series of 

 organs (calyx) only, or sometimes wholly wanting. 



Order CY. ARISTOLOCHIACE^.— Birthworts. 



Plants herbaceous or shrubby, the latter often climbing. Wood without concentric layers. 



Lvs. alternate, simple, petiolate, often with a stipule opposite the leal", or exstipuliite. 



F.s. perfect, axillary, solitary, brown or of some dull color. 



Car— Tube adherent to the ovary, segments 3, valvate in zestivatioii. 



Sla. 6—12. epiirynous or adhering to the base of the short and thick styles. 



Ova. 3 — ecelled. Sti?. radiate, as many as the cells of the ovary. 



Fr. capsule or berry, 3 — 6-celled many-seeded. 



Embryo minute, in the base of fleshy albumen. 



Genera 8, species no, most abundant in the tropica] countries of S. America, and thinly diffused through- 

 out the northern hemisphere. 



Properties.— Ionics and stimulants. Both the following genera are successfully employed in medicine. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



^ equal. Asariim. 1 

 Calyx limb \ unequal. ArUtolochia. 2 



1. AS ARUM. 



Said to be from the Gr. a, not, and acipco, to bind ; because not used in garlands. 



Calyx campanulate ; stamens 12, placed upon the ovary; anthers 

 adnate to the middle of the filaments ; style very short ; stigma 6- 

 rayed ; capsule 6-celled, crowned with the calyx. — Herbs with creepiiig 

 rhizomas and 1 — 2 lvs. on each branch. Fls. solitary. 



1. A. Canadense. Wild Ginger. Asarabacca. 



Lvs. 2, broad-reniform ; cal. woolly, deeply 3-cleft, the segments reflected. 

 — % A small, acaulescent plant, growing in rich, shady soil. Can. to Ga. and 

 W. States. The leaves are radical, large, 2 — 4' by 3 — 5', with a deep sinus 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 pedun- 

 cle, and is close to the ground, sometimes even buried just beneath the surface. 

 Calyx purplish, of 3, broad, long-pointed divisions abruptly spreading. The 

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

 or rhizoma is aromatic, and has been considered useful in whooping-cough. 

 May— July. 



2. A. ViRoiNicuM. Michx. Sweet-scented Asarabacca. 



Lvs. solitary, orbicular-ovate, glabroiis, coriaceous, cordate, entire, obtuse; 

 f,. subsessile ; cal. short, subcampanulate, glabrous externally. — Grows in light 

 soils among rocks, N. J. to Ga. A low, stemless plant, very similar in habit to 

 the preceding. Each branch of the rhizoma bears a terminal leaf and a flower. 

 Leaf 3 — 4' diam., very smooth, clouded with spost, the petiole 2 or 3 times 

 longer, lobes at base rounded and nearly closed. Flower many times shorter 

 than the petiole. Calyx segments obtuse, of a dusky purple, gi-eenish outside. Apr. 



2. ARISTOLOCHIA. 



Gr. aptSTOi, excellent, Xo;^;£OS, pertaining to parturition ; alluding to the medicinal properties. 



Calyx ligulate, with an inflated base and an unequal border ; an- 

 thers 6, subsessile upon the style ; stigma 6-cleft ; capsule 6-celled, 

 many-seeded. — St. erect or tinning. 



1. A. Serpentaria. Virginia Snake-root. 



St. erect, flexuous ; lvs. oblong, cordate, acuminate ; ped. radical ; lip^ of the 

 cal. lanceolate. — A curious vegetable of low growth, in hedges and thickets, 

 Penn. to 111. and La. Stem 8 — 13' high, subsimple, jointed, herbaceous. Leaves 

 2 — 4' by f — 2', rarely larger, petioles 3 — 9" in length. Flowers few, near the 



