Order 100.— ARISTOLOCHIACEJE. 601 



Cohort 3. APETALiE, 



Or Monochlamydeous Exogens. Dicotyledons with no 

 corolla, the calyx or perianth green or colored, consisting of 

 a single series of similar organs, or often wholly wanting. 



Order C. ARISTOLOCIIIACE^E. Birthworts. 



Low herbs or climbing shrubs, with alternate) leaves and perfect flowers. Perianth 



tube adherent to the ovary, brown or dull, valvate in the bud. Stamens G to 12, 



opigynous and adherent to the baso of the styles. Ovary G-celled, becoming a G- 



celled, many-seeded capsule or berry. Seed albuminous, embryo minute. Fig. 133- 



Genera 9, upecies 130, most abundant in tho tropical countries of S. America, thinly diffused 

 throughout thy northern hemisphere. Properties tonic and stimulant. Both tho following gen- 

 era are successfully employed in medicine. 



i. ASA'RUM, Tourn. "Wild Ginger. (Gr. a, not, aeipd, a band, 

 because rejected in wreathing garlands.) Calyx campanulate, regular, 

 3-cIeft ; stamens 12, placed upon tho ovary, anthers adnate to tho middle 

 or summit of the filaments ; stylo very short ; stigma G-rayed ; fruit 

 fleshy, C-ccllcd, crowned with the calyx. — 2T. Herbs with creeping 

 rhizomes and 1 or 2 lvs. on each branch. Fls. solitary. 



§ Leaves in pairs. Calyx lobes pointed, reflexed. Ovary wholly adherent No. 1 



§ Leaves solitary. Calyx lobes obtuse, suberect Ovary partly free Nos. 8,8 



1 A. Canadense L. Lvs. 2, broad-reniform, on long, opposite petioles with tho 

 flower between ; calyx woolly, deeply 3-clefr, tho segm. reflected. — In rich, 

 shady soil, Can. to Ga. and W. States. Lvs. radical, large, 2 to 4' by 3 to 5', with 

 a deep sinus at base, and a soft, velvet-like surface. 11. solitary, on a nodding 

 peduncle, and close to tho ground, sometimes even buried just beneath tho sur- 

 face. CaL purplish, of 3 broad, long-pointed divisions abruptly spreading. FiL 

 longer than the anthers, their tip3 (connectile) produced beyond them. May — JL 

 — The rhizome is a popular medicine, used in measles and whooping cough. 



2 A. Virginicum L. Lvs. solitary, orbicular-ovate, glabrous, coriaceous, deeply 

 cordate, entire, obtuse ; (1. subsessilo ; cal. short, subcampanulate, glabrous exter- 

 nally. — Grows in light soils among rocks, and Mts., Va., Ky. to Ga. A low, stem- 

 less plant, very similar in habit to tho preceding. Each branch of tho rhizorao 

 bears a terminal leaf and a ilower. Leaf 2 to 3' diam., very smooth, clouded 

 with spots, the petiole twice longer, lobes at base rounded and nearly closed. 

 Flower many times shorter than tho petiole. Calyx segments obtuse, of a dusky 

 purple, greenish outside. Apr. 



3 A. arifolium Mx. Lvs. solitary, broadly hastate, puberulent on the veins, thin, 

 with a deep sinus at base, the lobes obtusely angled and turned slightly outward ; 

 cal. injlated-urceolate, contracted above, with 3 very short, obtuse lobes at summit. — 

 Rich soils, Va. to Fla. and La. Rhizomes slender, white. Petioles 2 to 3' long. 

 Lvs. 2 to 3' by 1 to 2', margins wavy. Fl3. 9" long, roughish, purplish-brown as 

 long as their stalks. Mar. — May. 



2. ARISTOLOXHIA, Tourn. Birtiiwort. (Gr. aptOTOc;, excellent, 

 Ao%e/a, child-birth ; alluding to the medicinal properties.) Calyx 

 tubular, tube variously bent and inflated above tho ovary, border »n- 



