This plant is called 'Wild Ginger' because the aromatic rhizomes have a ginger-like fragrance and flavor. Fresh or dried, they can be used as a substitute for the spice. Different varieties of Wild Ginger have been described by different authorities, which vary according to the length of the calyx lobes, and whether they are spreading or reflexed. The variety that is described here, Asarum canadense reflexum, is the most common variety of Wild Ginger in Illinois.

This native perennial plant is 4-12' tall, consisting of a short stem that branches at ground level into 2 basal leaves with long petioles. The basal leaves are up to 3' long and 4' across. They are cordate-orbicular, deeply indented at the base, and have smooth margins. Their upper surface is slightly hairy and shiny. From the axil of a pair of leaves, develops a single reddish brown flower on a short stalk. Both the flowering stalk and the petioles of the leaves are covered with white hairs that are long and twisted. The flower is about 1' across; it has 3 calyx lobes that are triangular in shape and curl backward. The thick tubular base of calyx is divided into 6 rounded chambers (3 primary chambers, which are each divided into 2 secondary chambers). These chambers contain the ovaries, which develop into rows of seeds. The tubular base of the calyx is light reddish brown and covered with long white hairs. There is a stout column of reproductive organs at the throat of the flower, which is reddish brown like the lobes. It is surrounded by the inner surface of the calyx, which is white. The blooming period occurs from mid- to late spring, and lasts about 3 weeks. After the flowers wither away, the seed capsule splits open to release the seeds. These seeds have a fleshy appendage. The root system consists of shallow rhizomes that are fleshy and branching. This plant often forms vegetative colonies.

General: Birthwort Family (Aristolochiaceae). This herbaceous perennial is hairy, especially the petioles and calyx. The leaves are cordate-rotund to cordate-reniform, mostly 8-12 cm wide at anthesis, and larger at maturity. The solitary, red-brown flowers are 2-4 cm. They are short peduncled, arising between the pair of leaves. The fruit is capsular, opening irregularly. The seeds are large, ovoid, and wrinkled. The rhizome produces annually a pair of petiolate, broad, hairy leaves and these are deciduous at the end of the season.

Canadian snakeroot

Wild Ginger is a common plant that can be found in most counties of Illinois (see Distribution Map). Habitats include moist to slightly dry deciduous woodlands (both floodplain and upland), and bluffs. It often found along ravines and slopes.

Man., N.B., Ont., Que; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Pa., S.C., S.Dak., Tenn., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: Eastern North America (Kartesz, 1999), from the Gaspe Peninsula in southern Quebec (Labrecque pers. comm.); west to southeastern Manitoba (Punter pers. comm.), disjunct to mountains of western Manitoba (Punter pers. comm.), eastern South Dakota (Ode pers. comm.), eastern Kansas (Freeman pers. comm.); south to Louisiana (USDA-NRCS 1999), north-central Alabama (Schotz pers. comm.); east to the mountains of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site. This plant is found in rich woods, usually in colonies from New Brunswick and Quebec to Ontario and Minnesota, south to North Carolina, northern Alabama, and northern Louisiana.

Asarum rubrocinctum Peattie:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Asarum reflexum E.P. Bicknell:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Asarum acuminatum (Ashe) E.P. Bicknell:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Asarum canadense var. reflexum (E.P. Bicknell) B.L. Rob.:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Asarum canadense var. ambiguum (E.P. Bicknell) Farw.:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Asarum canadense var. acuminatum Ashe:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Asarum canadense L.:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Rhizomes horizontal, shallow, internodes 1.0-3.5 cm. Leaves: petiole 6-20 cm, crisped-hirsute. Leaf blade not variegate, cordate-reniform to reniform, 4-8(-20) × 8-14(-21.5) cm, apex rounded or obtuse; surfaces abaxially appressed-hirsute, usually sparsely so, adaxially appressed-hirsute, at least along main veins, marginal hairs perpendicular to margin or curved toward apex. Flowers erect or ascending; peduncle 1.5-3 cm; false calyx tube cylindric, externally tan or purplish, hirsute (often densely), internally white or pale green, occasionally mottled with purple, with white or purple hairs; distal portion of sepal spreading or reflexed at anthesis, 6-24 mm, apex apiculate to acuminate or filiform-attenuate, abaxially green or purple, hirsute, adaxially purple, puberulent with crisped purple or pale hairs; pollen sacs 1-1.5 mm, sterile tip of connective on inner stamens purple, 0.5-1 mm, shorter than or about as long as pollen sacs. 2 n = 26.

Asarum acuminatum (Ashe) E. P. Bicknell; A. canadense var. acuminatum Ashe; A. canadense var. ambiguum (E. P. Bicknell) Farwell; A. canadense var. reflexum (E. P. Bicknell) B. L. Robinson; A. reflexum E. P. Bicknell; A. rubrocinctum Peattie

Wild Ginger is a common plant that can be found in most counties of Illinois (see Distribution Map). Habitats include moist to slightly dry deciduous woodlands (both floodplain and upland), and bluffs. It often found along ravines and slopes.

Understory of deciduous (rarely coniferous) forests; 0-1300m.

Comments: This species is found in upland rich woods, typically higher pH soils and associated with calcareous rock outcrops or rich soils (Rock pers. comm., Ode pers. comm., Schafale pers. comm.); it is also found in high-nutrient, rich coves in mountains of the Carolinas and Tennessee, and is often underlain by mafic rock in western North Carolina (Kauffman pers. comm.). Associate species often include sugar maple or basswood or rarely white or red oak (Young pers. comm.). In the northern portions of its range, associates can also include aspen, balsam poplar and elm (Punter pers. comm.). This species is occasionally found in regenerating deciduous woodlands.

Propagation by seeds: This plant is somewhat difficult to start from seed and much easier by division. Gather the mealy fruits when they first begin to split. Clean the seeds, washing off all of the pulp that might inhibit germination and sow them outdoors immediately. They should be planted in a shaded seedbed and well watered throughout the summer for good germination the following spring. Note that the seeds of Canadian wildginger, if stored before planting, should not be kept dry. They should be placed in sealed plastic bags at 40° F and in slightly moist vermiculite. Seeds can also be sown in plugs and transferred several times to larger pots. They should be place in a greenhouse for three months and then moved to a cold frame for three months before planting out in the garden.

Propagation by division: Divide mature plants in early autumn when they start to go dormant. With the appropriate garden tool, cut through the rhizome at intervals of 6-8 inches. Another method is to leave the parent plant in place and divide sections from the edges of the clump. Replant the new divisions right away and water them thoroughly.

The reddish brown flowers probably attract flies or beetles as pollinating agents. The seeds attract ants because of the fleshy appendages; these insects help to disperse the seeds. The toxic foliage is not eaten by mammalian herbivores. Photographic Location

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 to >300

Comments: It is likely that several hundred to thousands of populations exist rangewide. Alabama: 40 to 50; Connecticut: >20; Indiana: thousands; Kansas: 30 to 50; Massachusetts: >20; Maryland: hundreds; Maine: 5; North Carolina: 50-100 on USFS lands (Kauffman pers. comm.); New Hampshire: >20; Rhode Island: 1; South Carolina: 8+; South Dakota: 2; Tennessee: 58+; Vermont: thousands; Manitoba: 30 to 40; Quebec: >100 (Brumback and Mehrhoff 1996, APSU 1999).

Since this is such a common species throughout much of its range, these numbers can only be estimates. Additional information on species distribution and the number of populations can be gleaned from county occurrence dot maps (USDA-NRCS 1999).

Flowering spring-early summer (Mar-Jul).

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 2
Specimens with Barcodes: 9
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Reasons: This species is has a very broad range in eastern North America and is frequently encountered in a wide variety of wooded habitats across its range. At present, collection pressure does not seem to be a major concern, however as with most herbs of medicinal value future changes in the market may put increased pressure on this species (Suggs pers. comm.).

Please consult the PLANTS web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

Comments: There is evidence, obtained from a reliable source, that collection from wild populations is occurring for the plant trade in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Manitoba.

There is virtually no existing market for this species at the national level, and hence it is apparently only sold regionally (Blakley pers. comm.). The first wildcrafting collection permit for this species for USDA Forest Service lands in North Carolina was in May 1999 (Kauffman pers. comm.). There is speculation of some low-level collection within Indian-owned parcels in South Dakota (Ode pers. comm.) and there is some low-level collection by native Americans in Manitoba (Punter pers. comm.). In Tennessee, this plant is collected from the wild and sold as nursery stock (Warren Co. Nursery). Most or all material on the market is from wildcrafted sources (Blakley pers. comm., Fletcher pers. comm.).

According to Kauffman (pers. comm.), there was a 1999 permit was for 250 pounds dry weight from the Black Mountains of North Carolina -- this amount may not have been met by actual collection. A large dealer in herbs based in the southern Appalachians sold 5,000-6,000 lbs. (dry) in 1999 (Fletcher pers. comm.).

A person knowledgable about the herbal medicinal trade says that the plant receives moderate use (M. McGuffin pers. comm.). The root is used.

As with all native forest herbs, habitat conversion and urban/rural development are significant direct threats (Homoya pers. comm., Pittman pers. comm., Kunsman pers. comm., Pearson pers. comm., Frye pers. comm., Freeman pers. comm.). Equally significant threats include habitat fragmentation and displacement by exotic species (Homoya pers. comm., Penskar pers. comm., Frye pers. comm., Enser pers. comm.). This species and its habitat are vulnerable to grazing and trampling by free-range cattle in portions of its range (Ode pers. comm.). Locally, limestone quarrying is one of the development pressures on this species given its affinity for limestone substrate (Labrecque pers. comm.).

Biological Research Needs: Further work on the demography of this species is needed to determine minimum viable population sizes. A better understanding of the natural history, breeding systems, and genetic variation both within and between populations is also desirable. There is also a need to develop adequate propagation techniques for cultivation of this species, and to determine sustainable collection levels from healthy, wild populations (Kauffman pers. comm.).

Needs: Current efforts are underway to mark and dye roots in order to protect similar species (ginseng, goldenseal); this may be a viable means for protecting targeted populations and publicize the need for conservation and protection of wild herbs (Corbin pers. comm.).

These plant materials are readily available from native plant nurseries within the species range.

The preference is light shade and moist to slightly dry conditions. The soil should be rich and loamy, although some rocky material underneath the soil surface is acceptable.

Comments: The plant is used as an alternative to Acorus as a thickener.

Prices for this species were found as follows:

Northeast U.S., nursery: $3-4/whole plant

Central Tennessee, nursery: $0.40/bare root whole plant (collected from wild, sold in bundles of 50)

Ethnobotanic: The Abnaki used a decoction of the plant in combination with another plant for the treatment of colds. The Ojibwe used the roots of this plant as an appetizer by putting it in any food as it was being cooked. It was also used for indigestion. The Iroquois used the roots to treat scarlet fever, colds, urinary disorders, and headaches. The Cherokee used the plant for a wide variety of medicinal purposes. The roots were used to treat coughs, colds, heart trouble, and blood medicine. The Meskwaki used the roots for many things. The cooked root was put into the ear for earache or sore ears. When one could not eat certain things, this root was cooked with these foods and it rendered them palatable. Mud catfish were cooked with Canadian wildginger to improve its flavor. When the root was chewed and the fisherman used the spittle on the bait, it enabled him to catch catfish. The Menomini used the fresh or dried roots of Canadian wildginger as a mild stomachic. When the patient was weak or had a weak stomach and it might be fatal to eat something he craved, he was fed a part of this root. Whatever he wanted could then be eaten with impunity. The Micmac also used the root as a stomachic and to treat cramps. The Potawatomi used the root to flavor meat or fish and render otherwise inedible food, palatable.

Wildlife: Canadian wildginger is an alternate food source for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor).

The rhizomes of Asarum canadense are occasionally used for seasoning. Handling the leaves is said to cause dermatitis in some people. 

 Native Americans used Asarum canadense medicinally to treat flux, poor digestion, swollen breasts, coughs and colds, typhus and scarlet fever, nerves, sore throats, cramps, heaves, earaches, headaches, convulsions, asthma, tuberculosis, urinary disorders, and venereal disease; as a stimulant, a seasoning, and a charm; and to strengthen other herbal concoctions and heighten appetite (D. E. Moerman 1986).

Comments: Recognized as a distinct species by Kartesz (1999) and most or all other authors. Kartesz does not recognize varieties within this species; the varieties acuminatum, ambiguum, canadense, and reflexum have sometimes been recognized.