ASARUM CANADENSE L.

Asarum canadense

Photograph by John Pickering

by Tineka Tolbert

Ecology 3500 student maymester 1999 email:Jawana20@aol.com

Common Names
The Higher Taxa
Identication and General information
Geography
Natural History
Where we can find wild ginger
References

Common Names:

Wild Ginger
Indian Ginger
Coltsfoot
Canada Snakeroot

The Higher Taxa

Class
Order
Family
Subfamily
Genus

Species

Asarum canadense

Identification and General Information

*The photograph was provided by Dr. John Pickering, Ecology Institute, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

The Asarum Canadense is a member of the Aristolochiaceae family, birthwort family. This plant was identified by Carl von Linneaus (1707-1778) in the 1700's. Asarum canadensis is a small and stemless plant. It ususally has two leaves which are borne on slender, finely hairy stems. The leaves are heart-shaped, thin, dark green above and paler green on the lower surface. There is only one lone solitary flower that is borne between the two leaf stems. (Sievers1930). . They grow 4 -12 inches high and 2-6 incehes wide (Plant Encyodpedia).The flowers are purple-brown cup shaped of 3 united sepals. There is only one solitary flower per plant. on the soil's surface so that it can be pollinated by the beetles and flies crawling on the ground (Perry 1997).The fruit is a six-celled leathery capsule. There is also ginger aroma to the plant.

The two var. types are:

var. acuminatum Ashe
var. reflexum (Bicknell)Robinson
(Radford)

Geography

This species is found in the eastern woodlands from New Brunswick to North Carolina and in the wooded midwest from Mitoba to Missouri and Kansas. it is abundant in areas with light to dense shade. (www.wiseacre-gardens.com)

Asarum Canadense
Area	Status	References
North America: Continental United States; Canada	YES	Radford, Ahles, &Bell 1968; Plant Encyclopedia
Eastern North America: United States east of Mississppi; Onatario and eastern Canada	YES	Radford, Ahles,&Bell 1968; Plant Encyclopedia
Southeastern States : AL AR DE DC FL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV	YES	Radford, Ahles,&Bell 1968; Plant Encyclopedia
Southern Appalachian States: AL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV	YES	Radford, Ahles,&Bell 1968; Plant Encyclopedia
Blue Ridge Moutains Great Smokey Mountains National Park	YES	Radford, Ahles,&Bell 1968;
Midwest from Manitoba to Missouri and Kansas	YES	Plant Encyclopedia
Georgia	YES	Pers. Obs.
Clarke County Georgia	YES	Botanical Gardens

Natural History

A. canadensis gets its name from the fact that the leaves and the roots smell like ginger. This plant was eaten by early settlers as a ginger substitute.This plant can cause skin rashes in some people and was onced used as a contraceptive tea by the indians(Perry 1997). it was also used in various medicines, particularly purgatives, and in snuff (Britannica). This plant requires moist organic soil with a pH between 5 and 7.5. It requires light to full shade inorder to grow and it has and extremely slow growth rate. Its propagation is division in early fall, ripe seeds with elaiosome covering removed(Perry 1997).

Where we Can Find Wild Ginger!

Wild Ginger can be found all along the eastern coast of North American and South Canada. Since this is plant is low to the ground the flowers are hard to spot because the leaves covers them up. However if you are adament in your search for this pleasantly fragrant flower, the best time to do your search is in the spring and early summer when the flowers begin to bloom and the fruit are present.

References

Encylopedia Brittanica online "wild ginger" web address
Perry, Leonard. Dr. University of Vermont. web address is http://pss.uvm.edu/pss123/wwasarum.html

Radford, Ahles, & Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill, N.C.

Sievers, A.F. 1930. The Herb Hunters Guide. Misc. Publ. No.77. USDA, Washington, DC WWW

Time Life Plant Enyclopedia. WWW
Tolber, Tineka. 1999. personal observation. Botanical Gardens Athens, GA. Spring 1999