60 



ARISTOLOCHIA Gigas. 

 Giant Birthwort. 



OYNANDRIA HEXANDRIA. 



Nat. ord. Aristolochiace.^. 



ARISTOLOCHIA. Botanical Register, vol. 8. fol. 689. 



A. Gigas ; volubilis, foliis subpubesceiitibus late cordatis acumiuatis, calycis 

 maximi tubo costato piloso limbo maximo cordato oblougo in acumen 

 caudatum etiam longius producto intus subochraceo purpureo-maculato. 

 Lindl. in Bat. Reg. 1842. misc. 53. 



Well might this flower, although growing on a small 

 plant in a flowerpot, excite the astonishment of the visitors to 

 the Garden of the Horticultural Society in the months of 

 June and July last ; for certainly it is a rare event even in the 

 prolific regions of the tropics to meet with so strange a pro- 

 duction. If we were given to fancies we should speculate 

 upon the possibility of its being a cross between an Elephant 

 and an Arum, for the colour belongs to the latter, and the 

 ear of the former, turned inside out, is no bad imitation of its 

 form. 



A similar production upon a mucb smaller scale has been 

 already figured at fol. IS'^^ of this work, under the name of 

 Aristolochia foetens. It is not indeed easy to point out the 

 differences between the two, except that A. gigas is a more 

 hairy plant, and has flowers about four times as large, desti- 

 tute of tbe offensive putrid smell of that species, for which 

 nature has substituted a less unpleasant odour resembling 

 that of old Tobacco. 



After this had been named it was observed that an Aris- 

 tolochia gigantea had been previously published. It is not, 

 November, 1842. z 



