176 62. BALANOPHORACEAE — 63. ARISTOLOCHIACEAE 



SUBORDER BALANOPHORINEAE 



FAMILY 62. BALANOPHORACEAE 



Succulent herbs without green colour, parasitic on roots, upon which their 

 root-stock is seated. Leaves reduced to scales. Flowers in spadi\-like spikes 

 or heads, red, unisexual. Perianth in the male flowers of 3 — 6 segments, in the 

 female 3-lobed or wanting. Stamens as many as and opposite the perianth- 

 segments, sometimes one of them abortive. Ovary inferior or naked, i-celled. 

 Ovules I — 3, pendulous from a central placenta or from the apex of the cell or 

 adnate to the wall of the ovary, without coats. Style simple, sometimes very 

 short ; stigma entire or lobsd. Fruit a drupe. Seed without a testa ; albumen 

 copious ; embryo small, apical, undivided. — Genera 4, species 6. Tropical 

 and South Africa. 



1. Fertile stamens 2. Female flowers with a 3-lobed perianth. Ovules 3. 



Stigma 3-lobed, borne on a long filiform style. Spadices oblong, sohtary. 

 — Species 2. South Africa. [Subfamily MYSTROPETALOIDEAE.] 



Mystropetalon Harv. 



Fertile stamens 3 or more. Female flowers without a perianth, but the 



base of the style sometimes surrounded by a tubular outgrowth of the 



receptacle. Stigma entire or sessile 2 



2. Stamens free. Anthers globose, many-celled. Ovules 3. Stigma sessile. 



Spadices panicled. Root-stock not resinous. — Species i. South and 

 East Africa. [Subfamily SARCOPHYTOIDEAE.] Sarcophyte Sparrm. 

 Stamens united. Anthers 2 — •4-celled. Ovule i. Style and stigma 

 simple. Spadices solitary. Root-stock resinous. [Subfamily BALAN- 

 OPHOROIDEAE.] 3 



3. Anthers 3 — 6, linear, 4-celled. Ovary linear. Ovule adnate to the wall 



of the ovary. Perianth-segments of the male flowers linear. Spadices 

 hemispherical. — Sp)ecies 2. Tropics. [Tribe LANGSDORFFIEAE.j 



Thonningia \'ahl 



Anthers numerous, 2-celled. Ovule free, pendulous. — Species i. Comoro 



Islands. [Tribe BALANOPHOREAE.] . . . Balanophora Forst. 



ORDER ARISTOLOCHIALES 

 FAMILY 63. ARISTOLOCHIACEAE 



Leaves alternate, entire or lobed. Flowers axillary, solitary or in clusters, 

 irregular, hermaphrodite. Perianth simple, corolla-like, with a distinct tube. 

 Stamens 5 — 24, adnate to the style. Anthers opening outwards or laterally by 

 longitudinal slits. Ovary inferior, 4 — 6-celled. Ovules several or many in 

 each cell, pendulous descending or horizontal, inverted. Style or stigma 

 6-lobed. Fruit capsular. Seeds with a small embryo and copious albumen 

 (Plate 38.) 



Genus i, species 30. Some are used medicinally . . Aristolochia L 



