•263 



WEEDS AXD USEFUL PLA^s'TS, 



DR'ISIOX UL 



APET'ALOUS EX'OGEXS. 



Corolla none ; the floral envelopes being in a single series (calyx), or 

 sometimes wanting altogether. 



Order LTI. ARLSTOLOCHIATEJE. (Birthttoet Family.) 



Herls or ^TcnMy jjlant?. — sometimes n.e::r'' ' - :;: ' ■ - - r\[ ■ 'c; 



Zeares alternate, simple, entire, more or i- - ; ;<e 



stipules; calyx-iuhe more or less cohort: : . — . a, 



vaivate in the bud : damens 6-12, more ": - - w.tLi ili; £:yie ; an!h-:rs a .naie. ex- 



trorse : ovary mostiy 6-ceiled -.fruit a m - jelled pod or berry ; seeds with a 



large raph.e and a minute embryo in a flosLy 



•• 



1. AEISTOEO'CllLl, Tournef. Birthwort. 



[A Greek name. — having reference to the medical virtues of the plant.] 



Cah/r coL;ired; tubular. — the lower portion adherent to the OTarT, ren- 

 tricose abuve the ovarv. straigiit or curved; limb oblique, 2 -"S^lobed. 

 — the lower lobe somewhat ligulate or exte:;oed to a lip. Stamens 6 ; 

 the sessile anthers wholly adnato to the ba^-'i: of the short and fleshy 

 3-6-lobed or angled stigma. Capsule naked. 6-valved. Erect or 

 twining perennials with lateral or axillary greenish or lurid-purple flow- 

 ers. C-O-pside coriaceous, 6-celled. sepiicidahy 6-valved. Steds numerous 



1. A, Serpenta'ria, L. Stem erect or ascending, flexuouse : leaves 

 lance-oblong, acuminate, entire, cordate (and sometimes auriculate; at 

 base ; peduncle sub-radical : calyx-tube much bent. 



SxAKE-EOOT Aristolochia. Virginia Snake-root. 



Root pereimial; of numerous rather coarse fibres. 5';e?/i herbaceous, 9-15 inches high, 

 simple or branched from the base, slender, angular, pubescent, leafy above, nearly 

 naked or Tvith small ab ; : t : v.- i -i- ■ - '> -,v, Z-aves 2-4 or 5 inches long : / '('■' - nne"- 

 fourth of an inch to : - ' rather large, few or sol;; ::ie 



base of the stem, an ; -ad leaves, oh a flexuos- > - 



duncle 1-2 inches in i ' i:-- - i -;rpiish brown, subcoriaceov.- . , ^ily 



bent, gibbous at the angle, — ^the umb dilated and somewhat 3-iobed. Capsule tui-binate 

 or roundish-obovoid. somewhat fleshy, pubescent. 



Rich woodlands : throughout the United States. Fl. .June. Fr. .July- August. 



Ohs. This little plant is to be found in almost every woodland, where 

 the soil is good : and its medicinal value, as an aromatic stimulant, ren- 

 ders it desirable that every person should know or be enabled to recog- 

 nize it. For this reason I have been induced to give it a placeh,ere. 



Another species A, Sipho, L'Htr.. the Pipe Tine, or Iii^tchmans 

 Pipe, is a native of the ^^est and S'i'Uth. It 'is a tail climber, and is 

 often cultivated as an ornamental vine. Its singularly curved flowers, 

 resembling a Dutch Pipe, are very interesting and curious, but the 



