206 
obvious. To Passifloracese they may be compared, on account of the twin- 
ing habit, alternate leaves, and leafy habit of many species ; and to Cucurbita- 
cese, on account of theirt wining habit, and inferior ovary. Brown, however, 
most correctly shews that their affinity is in reality with Nepenthaceae. 
Geography. Very common in the equinoctial parts of South America, 
and rare in other countries ; found sparingly in North America, Europe, and 
Siberia ; more frequently in the basin of the Mediterranean, and in small num- 
bers in India. 
Properties. These are in general tonic and stimulating; Aristoloehia 
is, as its name implies, reputed emmenagogue, especially the European spe- 
cies rotunda, longa, and Clematitis. An infusion of the dried leaves of 
Aristoloehia bracteata is given by native Indian practitioners as an anthelmin- 
tic ; fresh bruised and mixed with castor oil, they are considered as a valuable 
remedy in obstinate psora. The root of Aristol. indica is supposed by the 
Plindoos to possess emmenagogue and antarthritic virtues ; it is very bitter. 
Arist. odoratissima, a native of the West Indies, is a valuable bitter, andalexi- 
pharmic. Ainslie, 2. 5. The Aristoloehia fragrantissima, called in Pern 
Bejuca de la EstreUa, or Star Reed, is highly esteemed in Peru as a remedy 
against dysenteries, malignant inflammatory fevers, colds, rheumatic pains, &c. 
llie root is the part used. See Lamherfs Illustrations of Cinchona, p. 150, 
&c. The pow’er of the root of Aristoloehia serpentaria in arresting the pro- 
gress of the worst forms of typhus, is highly spoken of by Barton, 2. 51. It 
has an aromatic smell, approaching that of Valerian, with a warm, bitterish, 
pungent taste. Asarum canadense, called Wild Ginger in the United States, 
is nearly allied in medical properties to the Aristoloehia serpentaria. Barton, 
2. 88. The root of Asarum europseum, or Asarabacca, is used by native prac- 
titioners in India as a poweiTul evacuant : they also employ the bruised and 
moistened leaves as an external appheation round the eyes in certain cases of 
oiihthalmia. Ainslie, 1. 24, Tlie leaves and roots of the same plant are 
emetic ; but this quality is lost, according to De Candolle, by keeping or by 
steeping in ^egar. Hancock {Quarterly Journal, July, 1830, p. 334,) sus- 
pects the tme Gauco remedy for the bite of snakes to be some species of Aris- 
tolochia, among the different kinds of which the natives of Spanish America 
chiefly seek their antidotes. The plant called Raiz de Mato is an aromatic 
bitter species, and is esteemed as a most certain remedy in the Oronoque and 
Venezuela for the bite of venomous sei*pents. Aristoloehia trilobata has an 
aromatic stem, which is used against the bite of serpents. Barren. A. gran- 
diflora has a powerful nauseous narcotic smell, and is poisonous to hogs and 
cattle. Swartz jl. ind. occ. 1568. 
Aristoloehia, L. 
Bi-agantia, Lour. 
Ceramium, Bl. 
Munnichia, Bl. 
GENERA. 
Heterotropa, Morren. 
Asarum, L. 
Thottea, Rottb. 
Hoequartia, Dumort. 
Trichopodium, Lindl. 
Trichopus, Gaertn. 
Trimeriza, Lindl. 
Group V. CurhembrpOi^fie* 
Essential Character. — Embryo curved round albumen, or having the form of a 
horse-shoe, or spiral ; calyx rarely tubular, but sometimes long and petaloid. 
The plants comprehended in this alliance are with difficulty distinguished 
in mass from Urticales, because the embryo of the latter is sometimes 
