Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various herbs or woody vines of the genus Aristolochia having showy, often malodorous, purplish-brown to yellowish flowers with unusual shapes. The European species A. clematitis was used as a folk medicine to aid childbirth.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In botany: The common name of the European species of Aristolochia, A. Clematitis, from its supposed remedial powers in parturition, and from it transferred to some American species, which are more usually known as snakeroot.
- noun Same as
birthroot .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A genus of herbs and shrubs (
Aristolochia ), reputed to have medicinal properties.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun botany Certain
plant species of the genusAristolochia .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun creeping plant having curving flowers thought to resemble fetuses; native to Europe; naturalized Great Britain and eastern North America
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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And the flowers of silver alone, in the finest powder; and birthwort, when scraped and finely pounded, may be sprinkled on the part.
On Ulcers 2007
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It might have been a bitter root, such as Patroclus later used on a similar wound; an ancient commentator suggested Achillea (woundwort) or Aristolochia (birthwort).
The Trojan War Barry Strauss 2006
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It might have been a bitter root, such as Patroclus later used on a similar wound; an ancient commentator suggested Achillea (woundwort) or Aristolochia (birthwort).
The Trojan War Barry Strauss 2006
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One of the most remarkable examples of this insect-agency in the distribution of the pollen is furnished by the birthwort
Theism: The Witness of Reason and Nature to an All-Wise and Beneficent Creator. 1823-1886 1855
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Our ultimate goal is to provide clear policy guidelines of how to reduce the potentially dangerous use of birthwort in rural communities in the core countries of use thus informing national and international policies on development in health care.
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Our ultimate goal is to provide clear policy guidelines of how to reduce the potentially dangerous use of birthwort in rural communities in the core countries of use thus informing national and international policies on development in health care.
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Sometimes a pollinated birthwort even bends downward and drops the insect out of its temporary prison!
unknown title 2009
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One kind of European birthwort has the habit of "kidnapping" insects that visit its flowers in search of nectar.
unknown title 2009
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The "ransom" that the plant seeks is bits of birthwort pollen on the insect's body.
unknown title 2009
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Aristolochia durior, is a climbing vine and part of the birthwort family.
unknown title 2009
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