Wild ginger

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

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Read about Wild ginger in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Asarum (ancient obscure name). Including Hexastylis. Aristolochtaceae. Asarabacca. Low, nearly stemless herbs, sometimes planted in wild borders and used as ground-cover in shady places. Perennial: sts. creeping, with odd purplish or brown fls. on the surface of the ground (or nearly so), underneath the heart-like or kidney-like Lvs.: corolla wanting or merely rudimentary, but calyx corolla-like, with a regular 3-parted limb; stamens 12, with tips on the filaments projecting beyond the anthers: ovary inferior, maturing into a rather fleshy globular caps.—A dozen or more species in the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere. The asarums inhabit rich, shady woods, spreading on the ground, and the fls. are unseen except by the close observer. They are of easy culture if transplanted to rich, moist places. They make attractive carpets in borders and groves. The species described are sold by dealers in native plants. Some of the species are reported to have medicinal properties. Several species of doubtful validity have been described from the southern states. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

? Wild ginger
Wild ginger leaves (Asarum caudatum)
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Piperales Family: Aristolochiaceae Genus: Asarum
Species
See text.

Wild ginger refers to an herbaceous plant genus Asarum (Á-sa-rum) of the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae.

Asarum canadense is native to the forests of eastern North America. It is found from the Great Plains east to the Atlantic Coast, and from southeastern Canada south to approximately the fall line in the southeastern United States.

Asarum caudatum is found in British Columbia south through Washington and Oregon to central California, and from the Coast Range east to western Montana.

The plant is called wild ginger because the rhizome tastes and smells similar to that of ginger root, but the two are not particularly related. The root can be used as a spice, but is a potent diuretic, or urinary stimulant. Asarum canadense and other species in the genus contain the chemical aristolochic acid, which is carcinogenic in rats. The birthwort family also contains the Aristolochia genus. Aristolochia is a human carcinogen.

Wild ginger favors moist, shaded sites with humus-rich soil. The deciduous, heart-shaped leaves are opposite, and borne from the rhizome which lies just under the soil surface. Two leaves emerge each year from the growing tip. The curious jug-shaped flowers, which give the plant an alternate name, little jug, are borne singly in Spring between the leaf bases.

Wild ginger can easily be grown in a shade garden, and makes an attractive groundcover.

European Wild Ginger (Asarum europaeum) - flower

Species

• Asarum arifolium
• Asarum canadense : Wild Ginger, Black Snakeroot, Canada Wild Ginger, Canadian Snakeroot, Broad-leaved Asarabacca.
• Asarum caudatum : Long-tailed Wild ginger
  • Asarum caudatum caudatum : British Columbia Wild ginger.
  • Asarum caudatum viridiflorum : Longtail Wild Ginger).
• Asarum europaeum : Asarabacca, European Wild Ginger, Haselwort, Wild Spikenard.
• Asarum hartwegii : Hartweg's Wild Ginger.
• Asarum hongkongensis : Hong Kong Wild Ginger.
• Asarum lemmonii : Lemmon's Wild Ginger.
• Asarum marmoratum : Marbled Wild Ginger.
• Asarum naniflorum
• Asarum splendens: Chinese Wild Ginger.

See also

• Hexastylis (a closely related genus including Hexastylis speciosum (syn. Asarum speciosum) or Alabama Wild Ginger)

External links

• U.S. FDA warning on aristolochic acid
• The International Agency for Research on Cancer.
• Health Canada advising not to use products labelled to contain Aristolochia.