Everything about The Aristolochiaceae totally explained
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Piperales, but it's still quite common, though superseded, for the Aristolochiaceae to be assigned their own order (Aristolochiales).
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. The margins are commonly entire. 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.
Pipevine
swallowtail butterflies lay their
eggs on pipevine (
Aristolochia species), and the
larvae dine on the plant but are not affected by the
toxin, which then offers the adult butterfly protection against
predators.
Genera
Further Information
Get more info on 'Aristolochiaceae'.
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