EMPETRACE^. 309 



1. ARISTOLOCHIA. Linn.— Birthwort. 

 (From the Greek; in allusion to its supposed medicinal virtues.) 



Periantli tubular, ventricose at base, dilated at the apex and 

 ligulate. Anthers 6, subsessile, inserted on the style. Stigma 

 6-parted or lobed. " Capsule 6-sided, 6-celled, many-seeded. 



1. A. Sipho VHerit.'. stem twining; leaves cordate, acute; peduncles 

 1-flowered, furnished with an ovate bract; perianth ascending, the limb 

 3-cleft and equal. 



Mountains. Penn. to Car. June. Tj. — A vine climbing over trees of large 

 size. Leaves very large, alternate, sprinkled with hairs. Flowers solitary, 

 brown. Dutchman's Pipe. 



3. A. Serpentaria Linn. : stem erect, flexuous ; leaves cordate-oblong, 

 acuminate ; peduncles nearly radical ; perianth sigmoid, the orifice 2- 

 lipped. 



Shady woods. N. Y. to Car. June. %.. — Root consisting of numerous 

 coarse fibres. Stem 8 — 12 inches high, pubescent, geniculate and knotty at 

 base. Flowers purplish-brown, large, at the base of the stem, on crooked scaly 

 peduncles. It possesses valuable medicinal properties. See Big. Med. Bot. 

 ii. 82. Virginia Snakeroot. 



2. ASARUM. Linn. — Asarabacca. 



(From the Greek a, not, and aeipa, a hand or braid ; because it was rejected 

 from garlands by the ancients.) 



Perianth campanulate, mostly 3 -parted. Stamens 12, placed 

 on an epigynous disk. Anthers adnate to the middle of the fil- 

 aments. Ovary inferior ; style short ; stigma 6-parted or lobed. 

 Capsule 6-celled, many-seeded. 



1. A. Canadense Linn.: leaves a terminal pair, broad reniform; peri- 

 anth woolly, cleft to the base ; the segments sublanceolate, reflexed. A. 

 Caroliniamum Walt. 



Woods. Can. to Car. W. to Miss. April. %.—Stem none or very short. 

 Leaves generally 2, with long and hairy petioles. Flower somewhat campanu- 

 late, solitary, on a short peduncle, sometimes nearly buried in the ground. The 

 root has an agreeable and aromatic flavor. 



Canadian Asarabacca. Wild Ginger. 



2. A. Virginicum Mich. : leaves solitary, cordate, nearly round, coria- 

 ceous ; flower nearly sessile ; perianth externally smooth, short, cam- 

 panulate. 



Rocky woods. N. J. to Car. April. %. — Leaves spotted or clouded, smooth. 

 Segments of the perianth obtuse. Very similar in habit to the preceding. 



Virginian AsarcSbacca. 

 m 



Order CIX. EMPETRACE^.— Crowberries. 



Flowers dioecious or polygamous. Perianth consisting of 

 several persistent imbricate scales, the innermost of which are 

 sometimes petaloid. Stamens as numerous as the inner scales. 



