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Natural
History Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum) Richard Hebda INDEX for Native Plants This text was originally published in Coastal Grower (formerly The Island Grower) in Victoria, British Columbia. For subscription information, please call Susanne Steele at the Coastal Grower at 250-478-0825. The thick tree canopy of many or our forests creates dark corners where only a few plants succeed. Often mosses carpet the ground, and a few species of higher plants, such as shade tolerant orchids, rise above the surface. One unusual species, the only representative of a mostly tropical Birthwort Family, also lurks in the forest depths. Wild ginger forms loose herbaceous colonies which creep about the forest floor. The rhizome (stem-root structure) barely penetrates the surface of the soil and bears true roots from its lower surface. A pair of beautiful dark green heart-shaped leaves reach upward from lazy greenish stems. Each evergreen leaf has a long petiole (stalk) which supports a 7.5-10 cm (3-4") wide blade. Both leaf surfaces are shiny but bear widely spaced white hairs. The entire plant and especially the roots release a lemon-ginger scent when crushed. The odd-shaped flower sits under the foliage at the tip of the stem. It consists of a 3 cm (1.2") stalk that swells into a single hairy purplish green bloom reaching 7.5 to 9 cm (3-3.6 cm) across. This strange structure has three petal-like sepals which extend into long flexible points or tails, hence the species name caudatum, Latin for tail. There appear to be no petals. The bases of the sepals form a cup attached to the top of a swollen ovary. Prominent white zones are outlined in purple in the throat of the cup. Twelve short stamens surround a thick ribbed stigma in the flower's centre. Blooms open as early as April on the coast to mid summer in cooler interior climates. Wild ginger occurs throughout southern B.C. from about Prince Rupert across to Revelstoke, including Vancouver Island, but not the Queen Charlotte Islands. The range extends south to Oregon and eastward into Idaho and Montana, US. Moist shaded forests -- especially bottomlands at low- to mid-elevation -- provide the habitat. Wild gingers must be considered among the most valuable woodland garden species. Grown easily from fragments of the rhizome and from seed they can be transplanted at almost any time of the year, though early spring and late fall are best. Prepare a very loose humus rich soil. These plants thrive in shaded garden corners, especially on banks. Wild ginger grows particularly well on the cool north side of buildings. It combines favourably with rhododendrons and other acid-loving shade-casting ornamentals. Apparently slugs love the spicy plant. Obtain plants from a specialist nursery, do not collect them from the wild. Because of its wonderful scent and distinctive taste wild ginger was widely used by First Peoples. The Nuxalk (Bella Coola) of the central coast made ginger root tea for stomach pains. Poultices were made for headaches and other pains. Wild ginger was used by some groups as a good luck charm. Thompson-Okanagan peoples mixed wild ginger with Sphagnum moss to make bedding for babies. You can eat fresh roots or grind them for a ginger substitute. Apparently extract of the plant have antibiotic properties. Incidentally the scientific name of the Birthwort Family, Aristolochiaceae, comes from the Greek words for best aristos, and childbirth lochia because the flowers of European species resemble a foetus in birth position. Asarum is the original Latin and Greek name for wild ginger. If you want a useful but exotic species for your garden then try wild ginger. This easy-to-grow native will be certain to thrive in moist woodland corners. Contact Richard Hebda at the Royal BC Museum for more information on wild ginger and other native plants.
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