Birthwort Family (Aristolochiaceae)
Kingdom:Plants (Plantae)
Division:Flowering Plants (Magnoliophyta)
Class:Dicotyledons | Dicots (Magnoliopsida)
Order:Aristolochiales (Aristolochiales)
Family:Birthwort Family (Aristolochiaceae)
Birthwort Family
• The Aristolochiaceae, or the Birthwort family, are a
family of flowering plants with 8 genera and about
400 species belonging to the order Piperales.
• The type genus is Aristolochia L. The
Aristolochiaceae are magnoliids, a basal group of
angiosperms which are not part of the large
categories of monocots or eudicots. Some newer
classification schemes, such as the Update of the
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, place the family
Aristolochiaceae in the order Piperales, but it is still
quite common, for the Aristolochiaceae to be
assigned, sometimes with some other families,
their own order (Aristolochiales).
Birthwort Family
• They are mostly perennial, herbaceous plants,
shrubs, woody vines or even lianas. The
membranous, cordate simple leaves are spread
out, growing alternately along the stem on leaf
stalks. There are no stipules. The bizarre flowers
are large to medium-sized, growing in the leaf
axils. They are bilaterally or radially symmetrical.
• Many members of Aristolochia and some of
Asarum contain the toxin aristolochic acid, which
discourages herbivores and is known to be
carcinogenic in rats. Aristolochia itself is
carcinogenic to humans.
Wild Ginger (Aristolochiaceae)
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Kingdom:Plants (Plantae)
Division:Flowering Plants
Class:Dicotyledons
Order: Piperales
Family:Wild Ginger (Aristolochiaceae)
• Genus: Asarum
Wild Ginger
Wild Ginger
• Asarum consists low-growing herbs , that are distributed
over the north temperate zones with most species in Asia
(mainly China, Japan and Vietnam), North America and one
species in Europe.
• Biogeographically, Asarum originated in Asia. They have
characteristically kidney-shaped leaves, growing from
creeping rhizomes. They bear small, axillary brown or
reddish flowers.
Wild Ginger
• Asarum canadense is native to the forests of
eastern North America. It is found from the
Great Plains east to the Atlantic Coast, and from
southeastern Canada south to approximately
the fall line in the southeastern United States.
• The plant is called wild ginger because the
rhizome tastes and smells similar to that of
ginger root, but the two are not particularly
related. The root can be used as a spice, but is a
potent diuretic, or urinary stimulant.
References
• www.gardenguides.com/taxonomy/birthwort-familyaristolochiaceae/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristolochiaceae
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asarum
• http://www.wildgingerfarm.com/Asarum.htm