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Aristolochia clematitis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Magnoliids
Order:	Piperales
Family:	Aristolochiaceae
Genus:	Aristolochia
Species:	A. clematitis
Binomial name
Aristolochia clematitis L.

Aristolochia clematitis, (European) Birthwort, is a herbaceous plant in the Aristolochiaceae family, which is native to Europe. The leaves are heart shaped and the flowers are pale yellow and tubular in form.

Medicinal problems

It was formerly used as a medicinal plant (though poisonous) and is now occasionally found established outside of its native range as a relic of cultivation. A recent study suggests that it is the cause for thousands of kidney failures in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia where the plant is unintentionally consumed through flour. This has been discovered after a clinic for obesity in Belgium used Aristolochiaceae as a diuretic, after a few months some of the subjects suffered from kidney carcinoma and kidney failure.

See also

• Balkan nephropathy

Gallery

From Wikispecies

Aristolochia clematitis

Taxonavigation

Classification System: APG II (down to family level)

Main Page
Cladus: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiospermae
Cladus:Magnoliids
Ordo: Piperales
Familia: Aristolochiaceae
Subfamilia: Aristolochioideae
Genus: Aristolochia
Species: Aristolochia clematitis

Name

Aristolochia clematitis L., Sp. Pl. 962. 1753.

Synonyms

Heterotypic

• Aristolochia infesta Salisb., Prodr. stirp. Chap. Allerton, 215. 1796, nom. illeg.
• Aristolochia longa Georgi, Beschr. russ. Reich vol. 3, 5, 1274. 1800, nom. illeg. (non L.).
• Aristolochia rotunda Georgi, Beschr. russ. Reich vol. 3, 5, 1274. 1800, nom. illeg. (non L.).

References

• USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database, 6 March 2006 (http://plants.usda.gov).

Data compiled from various sources by Mark W. Skinner. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

• Species Plantarum 2:962. 1753
• USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. [1]

For more multimedia, look at Aristolochia clematitis on Wikimedia Commons.

Vernacular names