Botanical Description
Aristolochia rotunda is a dark-green succulent plant that grows to about 60–70 centimetres (24–28 in) high, rising from stout, fleshy, branching root-stock. The root reaches 5–25 centimetres (2.0–9.8 in) in length and sometimes seems out of proportion to the slenderness of the plant. The unbranched stem has alternate, large, smooth-edged, heart-shaped and stalkless leaves that clasp the stem with enlarged, basal lobes. The solitary flowers have an unpleasant odor and they are tubular, about 2.5–5 centimetres (0.98–2.0 in) long, yellowish-green with a prominent, dark-brown or dark purple flap, both arising from the axils of the leaves. The fruit is bladder-like of about 2 centimetres (0.79 in) in diameter and contains a single seed. The flowering period extends from April through June.
Read more about this topic: Smearwort
Famous quotes containing the words botanical and/or description:
“Evolution was all over my chldhood, walks abroad with an evolutionist and the world was full of evolution, biological and botanical evolution.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“Why does philosophy use concepts and why does faith use symbols if both try to express the same ultimate? The answer, of course, is that the relation to the ultimate is not the same in each case. The philosophical relation is in principle a detached description of the basic structure in which the ultimate manifests itself. The relation of faith is in principle an involved expression of concern about the meaning of the ultimate for the faithful.”
—Paul Tillich (1886–1965)