Aristolochia bracteolata Lam.
Perennial, rhizomatous herbs. Leaves alternate, exstipulate, simple, usually cordate-based, entire. Flowers solitary axillary. zygomorphic, bisexual. Perianth uniseriate, tubular, curved and inflated in the lower part, with a prominent flat limb at the top. Stamens 6, adnate to style to form a column. Ovary inferior, 6-chambered with numerous ovules on axile placentation; style short with 3 - 6 stigmatic lobes. Fruit a many-seeded capsule opening at the top by 6 valves.
Of its 12 genera and c.475 species it is represented by one species in Saudi Arabia.
Aristolochia bracteolata Lam., Encycl. 1:258 (1783). Plate 17
. = A. bracteata Retz. (1788) ; A. sempervirens Forssk. (1775) non L. ; A. maurorum L. var. latifolia Blatter (1919 - 36) non Bois.
لويا ـ اقليت Arabic Name Loiya, Iqleet
A spreading perennial herb. Leaves broadly cordate, up to 7 x 7 cm, minutely crisped along the margin, obtuse to acute. Flowers pedicellate with a small, leaf-like bract at the base of the pedicel. Perianth-tube yellowish-green, up to c. 20 mm long, with a bulbous globose swelling at the base; limb flat, narrowly oblong, up to 30 x 8 mm, dark reddish brown. Capsule cylindrical or obpyriform, up to 25 x 12.5 mm. Seeds cordate, flat, 2 x 2 mm, papillate, carrying placental remains on the dorsal face
Saudi Arabia : Mostly in the southwest, south of Jeddah. Often a weed of cultivation.
Distribution : Tropical Africa including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, Oman, Pakistan, India