708 CCVIII. ARISTOLOCHIE^. 



Teibb II. BEAGANTIEM. 

 Ovary completely inferior, elongate, slender, stipitate, 4-gonous,'4-ceUed ; ovules 

 numerous, 1-seriate on the middle of the septa. Stamens 6-36, equal, furnished 

 -with filaments. Calyx deciduous, closely appressed to the top of the ovary, and 

 3-lobed. Capsule siliquose, 4-valved. — Shrubs or undershrubs. Leaves reniform, 

 oval or oblong-lanceolate, reticulate. Flowers in spikes or racemes, small {Bragantia), 

 or very large, campanulate {Thottea). 



GENEEA. 

 Bragantia. Thottea. 



Tkibe III. ARISTOLOGHI^. 

 Ovary completely inferior, elongated, slender, stipitate, 6-gonous, 6- (rarely 5-) 

 celled; ovules numerous, inserted at the central angle of the cells and 2-seriate. 

 Stamens 6 (rarely 5) ; anthers sessile, extrorse, adnate by their whole dorsal surface 

 to the stylary column. Calyx deciduous, constricted above the top of the ova,ry, 

 irregular, tubular, limb various. Capsule oblong or globose, 6-angled, 6-valved, 

 opening at the bottom or top of the fruit. 



GENERA. 

 Holostylis. * Aristolochia. 



The aiBnities of Aristolochiets are rather obscure ; some botanists have placed them near Cucurbitacea, 

 which they resemble in their twining stem, alternate leaves, inferior ovary and extrorse stamens ; but 

 Ctiairhitacece differ in their diclinous double-perianthed flowers, imbricate aestivation, in the form and 

 number of the stamens, the mode of placentation, the absence of albumen, &c. They might with better 

 reason be placed near Nepenthece and Cytinece ; they have, like Cytinem, a monoperianthed isostemonous 

 or diplosteraonoiis flower, extrorse anthers, inferior often 1-celled ovary ; but Cytinece are parasitic, 

 aphyllous and diclinous P Nepentheai are allied to Aristolochiecs, and especially to the tribe Bragantiece, 

 by their single perianth, extrorse anthers, 4-gonous several-celled and many-ovuled ovary, and especially 

 by the exceptional structure of the leaves (see p. 705). 



Aristolochiea mostly inhabit tropical America, they are rarer in northern temperate countries and in 

 tropical Asia, and somewhat more frequent in the Mediterranean region. None have been met with in 

 southern temperate latitudes [except ArisMochia in America]. 



Most Aristolochiecs contain in their root a volatile oil, a bitter resin, and an extractable acrid sub- 

 stance, which have been celebrated in all times and countries as stimulants of the glandular organs and 

 the functions of the skin. Other species, in which the bitter resinous principle predominates, have been 

 from the most ancient times administered as anti-hysterics, emmenagogues, &c., whence their name. 



At the present time the species most in use are Aristolochia serpentaria and A. officinalis, designated 

 in North America Virginian Snakeroot, Viperine, Colubrine, &c., and especially prescribed for the bite of 

 the rattlesnake. It was not until the seventeenth century that European practitioners became aware of 

 their properties, and employed them instead of the indigenous species. Their congeners of the Antilles, 

 Peru, Brazil, and India, are equally praised as alexipharmics. A decoction of A.fcdida is used in Mexico 

 for. washing ulcers. The Aristolochias of Europe and the Mediterranean region, to which the exotic 

 species are now preferred, are A. rotunda, longa, pallida, and erenulata, which grow in the south of Europe ; 

 A. Mauritania, of Syria, and A. Clematitis, dispersed throughout France. Asarum europiBum {Asarahacca') 

 is an inconspicuous plant, growing in cool and shady parts of Europe ; its roots are bitter, nauseous 

 and strong-smelling ; they were formerly used as emetics, but have fallen into disuse since the discovery 

 of Ipecacuanha. The leaves reduced to powder furnish a good sternutatory. A. asarifolium is similarly 

 used in America. A. eanadense is also frequently used here as an emmenagogue, and from its ginger- 

 like smell is used to flavour wines and food. 



