Asarum. L.
Researcher: Beverly Burdette Osterland

Common Names:
Canadian wild ginger
Canada wild ginger
coltsfoot
false colt’s foot
catfoot
black snakeroot
black snakeweed
broad-leaved sarabacca
Canada snakeroot
heart snakeroot
indian ginger
southern snakeroot

Genus: Asarum. L., approx. (60 species)

Family: Aristolochiaceae

Synonyms:
Asarum acuminatum Ashe.
Asarum reflexum Bickn.

Relatives: European ginger (Asarum
europaeum), birthworts

Duration:Perennial

Habit: Herbaceous and colonial

Height: 6-12”



Wild Ginger stems
Beverly Burdette Osterland ©September 2006

Stems: Un-branched, pubescent leaf stems


Wild Ginger leaf from Plant Save
Philip Siegrist ©2006

Leaves: Ginger leaves are heart-shaped
and 3-6” across. They are lighter green on
the upper side of the leaf than the underside.
The leaves are pubescent, evergreen, and
strongly veined. During the first year of
growth the plant will only produce radicles,
or small false leaves. After a period of
exposure to low temperatures, normally two months at 0.6-10°C, a small single leaf
grows, its stem arising directly from the
rhizome. Each plant will eventually produce
two leaves (Baskin, 1986, Dammon, 1998,
Grieves, 1971, Perry, 2006, Person, 2005, Peterson, 1977).



Asuram (Wild Ginger) Flowers
Dr. Virginia I. Lohr, Professor
Department of Horticulture & Land. Arch.
Washington State University
http://www.wsu.edu/~lohr/

Flowers: Blooming in April to May, the
flowers are a maroon or purplish-brown
color and grow low to the ground in the
“crotch” of the leaf stems. They are solitary,
1-3” in diameter, and shaped like a bell or
urn shape. They actually have no true petals; instead the flower consists of three united
sepals (Dammon, 1998, Krochmal, 1969,
Person, 2005, Bremness, 2002,
Foster, 2000).



Steve Hurst. Provided by
ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory.
Washington, DC. Usage Guidelines.

Fruit: The leathery seeds form in a six-celled capsule that ripens in summer. As with many
low-growing woodland flowers, ants offer
their seed-dispersing services in exchange for
the nutrient-rich elaisome (an appendage
attached to the seed that inhibits germination.)(Smith, 1989, Dammon, 1998, Grieves, 1971, Perry, 2006, Persons, 2005).



Wild Ginger rhizome-
Beverly Burdette Osterland ©2006

Roots: The rhizomateous roots lie just below
the ground and form a network between clones. These connections will eventually rot. They
exhibit a yellow-brown color externally and a whitish inner pith. Rootlets grow out from closely spaced nodes (Dammon, 1998, Grieves, 1971, Persons, 2005, Peterson, 1977).

Pollination: Some sources indicate that
wild ginger is pollinated by ground insects such as beetles and ants, but others
maintain that the species is purely self-pollinated. It indisputably forms clones. Whichever way it reproduces, it will only
do so after it has stored up enough
resources to produce two leaves
(Wildman, 1950, Dammon, 1998, Perry, 2006).

Habitat: It prefers soils that are moist
but well drained and rich in organic matter. Characteristically it is found in mature
forests of a mesic deciduous composition.
Wild ginger is often found on deep
wooded slopes, but it will also turn up
on wooded roadsides (Smith, 1989,
Baskin, 1986, Dammon, 1998, Krochmal, 1969, Perry, 2006, Persons, 2005, Elliot, 1995).

Associations: sugar maple (Acer
saccharum)
bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis)
red oak (Quercus rubra)
spring beauty (Claytonia virginica)
white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)
largeflower bellwort(Uvularia grandflora)
sharplobe hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba)
feathery false lily of the valley (Smilacina racemosa)
bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

Native Range: Manitoba to New Brunswick, south to North Carolina and west to Kansas (Dammon, 1998,
Persons, 2005).

Pests/diseases: None found by
researcher.

Other threats: Deforestation and development.

Conservation status: Listed as threatened in Maine, globally secure.

History/culture: The Native Americans
had many uses for the root. The Cherokee used it for stomachaches, premenstrual discomfort, and swollen breasts. The Chippewas used it for bruises and contusions. The Iroquois found it helpful
for urinary problems and to fight off bad dreams brought on by the dead.
Meskwakis would cook dead animals
they found with a bit of the root to prevent ptomaine poisoning. A few other native
uses were for sore throats, colds, and nervous conditions. As the Colonies
began to form the settlers would use it as seasoning replacement for Jamaican
ginger (Krochmal, 1969, Persons, 2005, Bremness, 2002, Foster, 2000).