Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadense) is a perennial plant with attractive foliage and has become an increasingly popular ground cover for shaded areas of landscapes. It is native to the woodlands of eastern North America, including Illinois.
Wild ginger prefers shady areas with moist, well-drained soils that are rich in organic matter. Plants grow to be about eight inches tall and will spread via rhizomes and can form a dense ground cover up to twelve inches wide. The plants have attractive, deciduous, dark green leaves. The leaves are heart or kidney-shaped and are often covered in fine hairs, giving them a soft texture.
While many people grow plants for their flowers, you’ll likely have to do a little searching to find the flowers of wild ginger. The flowers are small, bell-shaped, and brownish-purple, located at the base of the plant, and are usually hidden beneath the foliage.
Pollination and other wildlife interactions
For many years, it was believed that wild ginger was pollinated by beetles and flies. It was believed that the flowers attract flies by mimicking decomposing flesh. Since the flowers are close to the ground, flies find them as they emerge from the ground in spring. However, there is little evidence that this happens. Instead, it is now believed that they are almost entirely self-pollinated.
Like many other spring-blooming wildflowers, wild ginger relies on ants to help disperse its seeds. The seeds contain elaiosomes, which are fleshy structures that are full of fats. Ants will collect the seeds and bring them back to their nests to feed on the elaiosomes.
Once the ants have eaten the elaiosome, they will dispose of the seed in an abandoned gallery in their nests or a trash pile close to their nests. Doing so provides the seeds with an area that has lots of nutrients that will aid their growth and helps disperse the seeds away from the parent plant.
If deer or rabbits are a problem in your landscape, you’re in luck. Wild ginger is considered to be deer and rabbit resistant, as they find it unpalatable.
Is wild ginger the same as ginger?
Despite its common name, wild ginger is not related to culinary ginger (Zingiber officinale), commonly used in cooking. In fact, they aren’t even closely related; wild ginger belongs to Aristolochiaceae, or the birthwort family (Dutchman’s pipe, Aristolochia macrophylla, is another member), while culinary ginger is part of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae).
However, the plants do have a ginger-like odor and flavor and were used by Native Americans and European settlers as a spice. The roots were harvested, dried, and then ground into a powder. Roots were also cooked in sugar water to create candied roots, and the leftover liquid was boiled to create a syrup. The plants were also used to treat various ailments.
Unfortunately, wild ginger contains aristolochic acid, which is a carcinogenic compound that can also damage the kidneys. Because of this, the consumption of wild ginger is not recommended.
Good Growing fact of the week: What many people call the petals of wild ginger are actually three fused sepals; the flowers don’t have petals.
***Courtesy of the University of Illinois Extension***
