| Classification |
| Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order Type: Basal Angiosperm-Dicots
Order: Piperales
Family: Aristolochiaceae
Family Common Name: Dutchman's-Pipe Family
Genera: Aristolochia, Asarum |
Defining Features: Some species
of Aristolochia being eaten by caterpillars of birdwing butterflies.
Defining Morphology: Floral
Features: Flowers are large, actinomorphic or zygomorphic and bisexual.
Calyx is tubular and fused (often pipe-shaped). Petals are often lacking
or vestigial. Inflorescence (axillary) is a solitary flower or in cymes
or racemes. Flower parts are 3-merous. Ovaries are inferior to half-inferior
with axile or parietal placentation. Fruit and Seed Features: Dicotyledon.
Fruit as a capsule, schizocarp or dry-baccate. Seeds have small embryos
and oily endosperm. Vegetative Features: Habit as herbaceous plants, shrubs
or usually woody lianas. Leaves are simple, entire (rarely lobed), sometimes
punctate and alternate. Leaves have palmate venation. Stipules are lacking.
Distribution: Tropical with
a few temperate species. None in Australia.
Economic Use: As a cultivated
ornamental vine and medicinal products.
Number of Genera Globally: 7
Number of Species Globally: 460
