494 ORDER CYI. ARISTOLOCniACE^. 



under surface. Pedancles axillary, solitary, shorter than the leaf, bear- 

 ing 3 — 8 flowers. Flowers small. — Whitish-yellow. '^ . Moist places. 

 Middle Car. and Geo. 2—5 feet. 



Order CVL— ARISTOLOCHIA'CE^. {Birthwort Family.) 



Flowers perfect. Perianth superior, tubular, 3-cleft, regu- 

 lar, or sometimes very unequal ; aestivation valvate. Stamens 

 6 — 12, epigynous. Ovary inferior, 3 — 6-celled. Ovules nu- 

 merous. Styles simple. Stigmas radiating, equal in number 

 to the cells of the ovary. Fruit capsular, 6-celled, many-seed- 

 ed. Leaves alternate, simple. Flowers axillary, solitary, of a 

 brownish dull color. Herbaceous or shrubby plants, the latter^ 

 usually climbing. 



Genus I— AS'ARUM. L. 18—12. 

 (From the Greek a, privative, and saron, feminine.) 



Perianth campanulate, urceolate, 3 — 4-cleft. Stamens 12, 

 placed upon the ovary. Anthers attached to the side of the 

 filament. Style short. Stigma stellate, 6-lobed. Capsule 6- 

 celled. 



1. A. Canaden'se, (L.) Leaves by pairs, broad, reniform. Perianth 

 "woolly, deeply 3-parted, segments sub-lanceolate, reflexed. Peduncles 

 short. — 1i. April Rich soils. Wild Ginger. 



2. A. Virgin'icum, (L.) Leaves solitary, cordate, nearly round, cori- 

 aceous, glabrous, spotted. Perianth glabrous, externally short, cam- 

 panulate, with obtuse segments. — Z(. April. Rocky woods. 



3. A. arifo'lium, (Mich.) Leaves several from each root, hastate, 

 cordate, variegated, on long pubescent petioles. Perianth urceolate, 

 dark purple, border 3 cleft, pubescent within. Filaments 12, short. 

 Anthers linear. Seed few in each cell. — U' March — April. Loose 

 soils. Very common. 



Genus XL- ARISTOLO'CHIA. L. 18—6. 

 (From aristoa, best, and locheia, parturition.) 



/"/oi^'^rs gynandrous. Perianth tubular, ligulate at the apex, 

 ventricose at the base. Anthers 6, sub-sessile, inserted into the 

 style. Stigma 6-cleft. Capsule 6-sided, 6-celled, many-seeded. 



1. A. si'pHO, (L'Her.) A vine, climbing over large trees. Leaves very 

 large, cordate, acute, alternate, sprinkled with hairs. Flowers solitary, 

 pedunculate, with an ovate bract at the base. Perianth ascending, 

 somewhat tubular, the border S-cleft, brown. — ^. June. Mountains. 



Dutchman s Pipe. 



2. A. TOMENTo'sA, (Sims.) Stem twining, ascending the loftiest trees. 

 Leaves nearly round, cordate, tomentose beneath, strongly veined. Pe- 

 rianth villous, the border 3-cleft, nearly equal, the orifice oblique, green- 

 ish-yellow, with the margin dark pur^jle. Stigmas 3. — ^. June. 

 Mountains. 



