English: Birth wort; Worm killer.
Region: Africa, sub-Saharan regions, Mali to Somalia, Arabian Peninsula to India.
Habitat: banks of rivers, Acacia-Commiphora bushland, Acacia desert grassland by dry sand-rivers, scrub, on sandy or lava soils; elevations of 220 to 900 metres; drier tropics and subtropics, usually growing where there is a distinct dry season.
Content: aristolochic acid, poisonous to mammals.
Use: traditional medicine; kill lice and ticks.
BotanyHerb; climbing; perennial, rarely annual; mostly prostrate but occasionally climbing or suberect; unpleasantly smelling; 10 to 60 cm tall.
Flower: hermaphrodite; form an intricate trap for pollinating insects, which are eventually released; flowers from May to June.
Pollination by flies.