ARISTOLOCHIACE^E. 



Nat. syst. ed. 2. p. 205. 



ARISTOLOCHIA. 



Calyx superior, tubular, coloured, permanent ; tumid, and 

 nearly globose, at the base ; limb dilated ; either lobed and 

 equally spreading, or unilateral and undivided. Filaments 

 consolidated into a notched cup, crowning the ovary within the 

 calyx; anthers 6, sessile on the outer surface of the cup, each 

 of 2 oblong, separated, parallel, bivalve, cells. Ovary inferior, 

 oblong, angular. Style scarcely any. Stigma nearly globular, 

 with 6 deep lobes ; the summit concave. Capsule with 6 angles, 

 6 cells, and 6 valves, with double partitions from their inflexed 

 margins. Seeds numerous in each cell, depressed, horizontal, 

 lying over each other, triangular, with a dilated or thickened 

 winged margin. 



702. A. bracteata Retz. obs. v. No. 80. Eoxb.fi. ind. iii.490. 

 Cultivated ground on the coast of Coromandel. 



Root perennial, long, slender, simple, perpendicular, waved, with 

 many small fibres issuing from every part of it. Stems or branches 

 several, weak, resting on the ground, waved, striated, from 12 to 18 

 inches long. Leaves alternate, petioled, kidney-formed, beautifully, 

 though slightly, curled round the margin, a little rugose, glaucous 

 underneath ; about 2 inches each way ; petioles channelled. Flowers 

 axillary, single, peduncled. Peduncles drooping, with a kidney-shaped, 

 curled, sessile bract near the base. Calyx with the upper part of the 

 tube and tongue erect; the latter has its margins revolute; the colour 

 a most beautiful dark purple; covered on the inside with hairs of the 

 same colour. Anthers 6 pairs. Capsules ovate. Roxb. Every part 

 nauseously bitter ; in India, for a purging with gripes, two of the fresh 

 leaves are rubbed up with a little water and given to an adult for a 

 dose, once in 24 hours. Roxb. An infusion of the dried leaves is 

 given as an anthelmintic ; fresh bruised and mixed with castor oil they 

 are considered a valuable remedy in obstinate cases of itch. 



703. A. indica Linn, sp.pl. 1362. Roxb. fl. ind. iii. 489. 

 (Rheede viii. t. 25.). Copses and jungles in India, in poor soil. 



Root much like that of Sarsaparilla, perennial. Stem twining, below 

 woody. Leaves stalked, wedge-shaped or obovate, 3-nerved, pointed, 

 waved, scolloped, smooth, 2-4 inches long, 1-2 broad. Racemes 

 axillary, shorter than the leaves, with bracts. Flowers erect. Anthers 

 in 6 pairs. Anthers oblong, pendulous. Roxb. Root nauseously 

 bitter; the Hindoos suppose it to possess emmenagogue and antar- 

 thritic virtues. 



341 z3 



