ARISTOLOCHIA. CV. ARISTOLOCHIACEJE. 465 



SUBCLASS III. APETALJE. 



Corolla none ; the floral envelops consisting of a single series of 

 organs (calyx) only, or sometimes wholly wanting. 



ORDER CV. ARISTOLOCHIACEJE. BIRTHWORTS. 



rbaceous or shrubby, the latter often climbing. Wood without concentric layers. 

 rnate, simple, petiolate, often with a stipule opposite the leaf, or exstipulate. 

 ct, axillary, solitary, brown or of some dull color. 



Plants her 



Lvs. alternat 



Fls. perfect, , , 



Col. Tube adherent to the ovary, segments 3, valvate in aestivation 



Sta. 612. epigynous or adhering to the base of the short and thick styles. 



Ova. 3 6-celled. Stig. radiate, as many as the cells of the ovary. 



Fr. capsule or berry, 3 6-celled many-seeded. 



Embryo minute, in the base of fleshy albumen. 



Genera 8, species 130, most abundant in the tropical countries of S. America, and thinly diffused through- 

 out the northern hemisphere. 



Properties. Ionics and stimulants. Both the following genera are successfully employed in medicine. 

 Conspectus of the Genera. 



( equal. Asarum. 1 

 Calyx limb i unequal. Aristolochia. 2 



i. AS ARUM. 



Said to be from the Gr. a, not, and ffctpw, to bind ; because not used in garlands. 



Calyx campanulate ; stamens 12, placed upon the ovary; anthers 

 adnate to the middle of the filaments : style very short ; stigma 6- 

 rayed ; capsule 6-celled, crowned with the calyx. Herbs with creeping 

 rhizomas ajid 1 2 Ivs. on each branch. Fls. solitary. 



1. A. CANADENSE. Wild Ginger. Asarabacca. 



Lvs. 2, broad-reniform ; cal. woolly, deeply 3-cleft, the segments reflected. 

 1\. A small, acaulescent plant, growing in.rich, shady soil, Can. to Ga. and 

 W. States. The leaves are radical, large, 2 4' by 3 5', with a deep sinus at 

 base, on long, hairy stalks, and having a soft, velvet-like surface. The flower 

 grows from between the bases of the leaf-stalks, solitary, on a nodding pedun- 

 cle, and is close to the ground, sometimes even buried just beneath the surface. 

 Calyx purplish, of 3, broad, long-pointed divisions abruptly spreading. The 

 12 filaments bear the anthers on their sides just below the extremity. The root 

 or rhizoma is aromatic, and has been considered useful in whooping-cough, 

 May July. 



2. A. VIRGINICUM. Michx. Sweet-scented Asarabacca. 



Lvs. solitary, orbicular-ovate, glabrous, coriaceous, cordate, entire, obtuse ; 

 JL. subsessile ; cal. short, subcampanulate, glabrous externally. Grows in light 

 soils among rocks, N. J. to Ga. A low, stemless plant, very similar in habit to 

 the preceding. Each branch of the rhizoma bears a terminal leaf and a flower. 

 Leaf 3 4' diam., very smooth, clouded with spost, the petiole 2 or 3 times 

 longer, lobes at base rounded and nearly closed. Flower many times shorter 

 than the petiole. Calyx segments obtuse, of a dusky purple, greenish outside. Apr. 



2. ARISTOLOCHIA. 



Gr. aptjroj, excellent, Ao^eoj, pertaining to parturition ; alluding to the medicinal properties. 



Calyx ligulate, with an inflated base and an unequal border ; an- 

 thers 6, subsessile upon the style ; stigma 6-cleft ; capsule 6-celled, 

 many-seeded. St. erect or twining. 



1. A. SERPENTARIA. Virginia Snake-roof,. 



St. erect, flexuous ; Ivs. oblong, cordate, acuminate ; ped. radical ; lip of the 

 cal. lanceolate. A curious vegetable of low growth, in hedges and thickets, 

 Penn. to 111. and La. Stem 8 13' high, subsimple, jointed, herbaceous. Leaves 

 2 4' by f 2', rarely larger, petioles 3 9" in length. Flowers few, near the 



