AR'ISTOL. A light-brown, amorphous pow der formed by the union of iodine and thy mol. It contains 45.8 per cent. of iodine, and chemically it is dithymol-diiodide. Insoluble in water and glycerin. it is freely soluble in ether fatty oils, and slightly so in alcohol. Its action is similar to that of iodoform (q.v.), but it possesses the advantage of being odorless. Be ing an unstable compound. it cannot be mixed with substances which have a tendency to com bine with iodine, and so is best used alone. It is used as a substitute for iodoform, as a cicatri zant and mild antiseptic, in dressing wounds. . ARISTOLOCHIA, (Lat., from Gk. aptaro2.6,yeta, aristolocheia, an herb pro moting childbirth, like birth-wort, from amaroc, aristos, best + 7oxeia, locheia, childbirth, child bed). A genus of plants of the natural order Aristolochiacem. This order consists of herba ceous plants or shrubs, often climbing shrubs, and contains upward of ISO known species, chiefly natives of warm climates, and particu larly abundant in the tropical regions of South America. The species are mostly shrubby, sonic of them climbing to the summits of the loftiest trees. Several are found in the south of Europe; one only, the common birthwort (Aristolochia clematitis). occurs upon the Continent as far north as about latitude 50°, and is a doubtful native of England. it is a perennial plant, with erect, naked, striated stem. heart-shaped dark green leaves on long stalks, the flowers stalked, and growing to the number of sometimes seven together, the tube of the perianth about one inch long, and of a greenish color. It grows chiefly in vineyards, hedges, about the borders of fields, among rubbish, and in waste places. It has a long branching root, with an unpleasant taste and smell, whieh, with the roots of Aristolochia rotunda and A ristolochia longa, two herbaceous species, natives of the south of Europe, was for merly lunch used in medicine, being regarded as of great service in cases of difficult parturition, whence the English name. These roots possess powerful stimulating properties, and those of the southern species are still used as emmenagogues. The root of Aristolochia indica is used in the same way by the I lindn:. .11'100100ljg serpcn la•ia, Virginian stinker( su, is a native of most parts of the United States, growing in woods. It
has a flexuous stem, S to 15 inches high, bearing heart-shaped, very acute leaves. The flowers are on stalks, which rise from near the root; the ori fice of the perianth is triangular. The root has a penetrating, resinous smell, and a pungent, bitter taste. It has long been a fancied remedy for the bite of the rattlesnake. It possesses stim ulant, tonic, and diaphoretic properties. It forms. an article of export from the United States to Europe, being highly esteemed as a medicine in certain kinds of fever. Its reputation as a cure for serpent bites is shared by other species, na tives of the warmer parts of America. Several South American species seem also to possess medicinal properties analogous to those of the Virginian snakeroot. Aristolochia sipho or A•is tolochia macrophylla, a climbing shrub of 15 to 20 feet in height, a native of the southern parte, of the Alleghany Mountains, is frequently plant ed in the United States, in Great Britain, and on the Continent of Europe. to form shady bowers. It has very large round or somewhat heart shaped leaves (a foot in breadth), of a beautiful green. The flowers hang singly, or in pairs, on long stalks; the tale of the perianth is crooked in its upper part, inflated at the base, and lined with reddish-brown veins. having a sort of re semblance to the bowl of a tobacco pipe, for which reason the shrub is sometimes called pipe-shrub, pipe-vine, or Dutchman's pipe. Aristolochia to mentosa resembles Aristolochia siplio, except in being smaller, very hairy, and in having yellow flowers. The tropical species are distinguished for their beauty and the peculiar forms of their flowers. Sonic of them are much-prized o•na ments -if our hot-houses. A risto/ochia grandiflora (Aristolochia gigas of Lindley), the goose-flower or pelican-flower of the West Indies, being one of the most important. Its name is derived from the fancied resemblance to the bird. Fossil forms of Aristolochia have been described from the Ter tiary rocks of Greenland, the Rhone Valley. and from Portugal. and still earlier forms, under the names A ristolochites and Aristolochi• phyllum, from the Cretaceous of North America.