53 
ARISTOLOCHIA HYPERBOREA. 
(northern birthwort.) 
class. order. 
GYNANDRIA. HEXANDRIA. 
natural order. 
ARISTOLOCHIACE^. 
Genekic Character. — Vide vol. iii. p. 2. 
Specific Character. — Plant a climbing shrub, evergreen. Stem twining, slightly tortuous, branching, 
the older parts with a rugged surface. Leaves large, petiolate, cordate, deep green above, lighter 
beneath, acute. Stipules amplexicaul, oblong, acute, light green. Flower-stalk from three to four 
inches long, curved, axillary. Perianth tubular, tube oblong, tapering towards the base, curved 
upwards towards the extremity, and divided into two lips ; lower lip short, upper one spatulate, 
slightly crenate, emarginate, pendulous, generally six inches in length. 
Amidst the endless diversity of structure and colour which flowers, the fairest 
of nature's productions, present, some command our admiration by their superla- 
tive beauty, while others arrest our attention by the singularity of their form. It 
is difficult to ascertain which awakens the most pleasing emotions, since, notwith- 
standing man's universal, perhaps intuitive, love of beauty, his unconquerable love 
of novelty is frequently paramount, and a curious object is often valued more 
highly than one truly graceful. 
In the very remarkable plant which is represented with great fidelity in the 
annexed drawing, the curious and the beautiful are admirably blended. Each of 
these qualities is discernible at a single glance ; and the more closely the flower is 
examined, the more obvious do they become. Its large and richly-mottled tube, 
the elegant continuous curvature of which ultimately expands into a thin, slender, 
flowing lip, together with the exquisite markings around the orifice of the limb, 
are features on which the beholder may gaze for a considerable time without wea- 
riness. We may here remark, that the flowers are frequently much larger than 
the scale given in our figure. 
Nor must the habits of the plant, its handsome foliage, and the happy dispo- 
sition of the flowers, be left unnoticed. By being trained to the roof of a stove, 
these latter hang pendulously from the stem in such a manner as to exhibit all 
their beauty. This would be in a great measure concealed, were they not pro- 
