ARISTOLOCIILA'CE1E, Birthworts, consist of a small number of genera which principally inhabit the hotter parts of the world. They are in many Canal used medicinally on account of their tonic and stimulating properties; and some of them are reputed remedies for the bite of venomous serpents. The distinguishing characters of the order reside in the flowers, which have no corolla, and are constantly divided into three segments ; the number of the cells of the fruit is also three or six, and the stamens agree in the same ternary character; the fruit is always adherent to the calyx, or, as botanists say, inferior. Notwithstanding the accordance which thus exists between Aristo lochiaecce and Monocotyledonous Plants in the ternary number of the parte of their flowers, their atnicture is otherwise truly Dicotyledonous. The arrangement of the woody matter of which their stem is composed is in longitudinal plates, eurrounding a central pith, and surrounded by hark ; but what in very curious, these plates are not placed in concentric circles like most other exogenous plants, but continuo to increase uniformly and uninterruptedly as long as the plant grows.
[Him Ess.] The loaves are veined like these of exogenous /dean, and the embryo of the seed has two lobes.
The most common plants of this singular order are the different specie.] of Asaruna, or, as the gardeners call them, Asambacca,—little stemless plants with dingy-brown flowers hidden among the leaves.
This colour, which is far from common in plenty], rippearschamcterietie of the whole order, for even in those species which have yellow flowers, a brown stain seems to be mixed with the colour so as to change it, or brown spots are scattered over the surface. The rdont remarkable species of the genus Aristolochia are those which, iu ninny of the tropical parts of America, excite the wonder of travellers by the gigantic size or grotesque appearance of the flowers, such as A. cymbifera, the border of whose calyx resembles one of the lappets of a Norman woman's cap, and measures 7 or S inches in length, A. cords:gore, and A. yigaalea, the flowers of which are from 15 to 10 inches across, and are large enough to form bonnets for the native children.
The properties of this order are generally tonic and atimulating. Many of the species, as their common name implies, have had properties attributed to them which they are now known not to possess; at the same time some of them are emetic and others purgative, and they contain undoubtedly plants which might be used with advantage in medicine. Only one has been much used, the Arestolochia Serpentaria. [ARISTOLOCItla, in ARTS Alin Se. Div.]