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Asarum canadense

Common Name: Wild Ginger
Asarum canadense
Asarum canadense

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Piperales
Family: Aristolochiaceae
Genus: Asarum
Species: Asarum canadense

Conservation Status

Identifying Features

The flowers of wild ginger are 1.5" with 3 pointed lobes that are red-brown in color. They are cup-shaped, downy, and ill-scented. The flowers grow at ground level in the fork of a pair of leaves.

The leaves of this plant are heart-shaped, thick, and downy, and they grow on hairy stalks. The plant can grow to a height of 8".

Habitat & Range

Wild ginger grows in the woods in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.

Behavior

The fleshy roots of this species have a strong, gingery flavor.

Life Cycle

The flowers bloom from April to May.

This plant is an herbaceous perennial that can form dense colonies on the forest floor.

Featured image by James Dake.

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