BIRTH WORT FAMILY. Artstolochiaceae. 



BIRTHWORT FAMILY. Aristolochiaceae 



A rather small family, chiefly of warm countries, but 

 widely distributed; herbs or shrubs; the leaves alternate or 

 from the root, with leaf -stalks, more or less heart-shaped, 

 without stipules; the flowers perfect, mostly large, sym- 

 metrical or irregular in form, with or without a corolla; the 

 calyx with three or six lobes, or irregular; the stamens six 

 to many, inserted on the pistil; the ovary wholly or partly 

 inferior; the fruit a mostly six-celled capsule, containing 

 many seeds. 



There are several kinds of Asarum. 



The handsome leaves of this perennial 

 Wild Ginger . ,_5 , 



Asarum Hartwegi are lts conspicuous feature. They have 

 Brown long, hairy leaf-stalks and are heart- 



Spring shaped and toothless, from three to five 



Cal., Oreg. inches broad, dark rich green, prettily 



veined and often also beautifully mottled with white, 

 smooth on the upper surface and hairy on the under. We 

 notice them immediately in the damp, dark woods they 

 live in, but unless we look carefully we miss the single, 

 large, strange, purplish-brown flower, the color of dead 

 leaves, which nestles close to the ground as if trying to 

 hide itself. This has twelve stamens, with stout filaments, 

 and six styles, united at the base. There are no petals, 

 but the hairy calyx has three lobes, which are sometimes 

 an inch and a half long, and have long points like tails, 

 The seed-vessel is roundish, crowned by the withered 

 calyx and stamens. The rootstock cannot be used as a 

 substitute for ginger, but smells and tastes very aromatic 

 and pungent. This resembles the Wild Ginger of the 

 East, but is handsomer. 



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