Wild Ginger

Asarum canadense

Wild ginger is a ground-covering perennial native to eastern North America. It grows in shade forests and woodlands, where its rounded leaves can blanket the forest floor. Wild ginger has creeping rhizomes just under the soil surface and spreads through vegetative reproduction. The stems are short and grow from the rhizomes at ground level; the hairy, heart-shaped leaves are about four inches across. In spring, small maroon-brown flowers emerge from the leaf axils. They have brownish-yellow lobes at the base, which curve outward. The flowers are pollinated by crawling insects such as beetles [1].

Wild ginger was used by Native American for medicine and food [2]. Native Americans brewed the aromatic root into teas that were used to treat colds, fevers, and coughs; they also used it in poultices to treat wounds and infections. The rhizome can be dug and eaten raw, but its flavor is pungent and spicy, and it is likely to cause an upset stomach. The rhizome was used as a replacement for culinary ginger by early settlers [3]. Wild ginger has no botanical relation to culinary ginger.

The modern medical discovery of aristolochic acids in wild ginger [4][5] has shown the plant to be toxic to the kidneys and a potential carcinogen. It is no longer recommended for internal use. Its extensive use by Native American in a wide variety of remedies is an example of observation and caution going hand in hand.

Wild ginger helps prevent erosion on forest floors and supports populations of ground-dwelling insects. Ants disperse its seeds by foraging on a small nutrient-rich coating and carrying the seeds to their nests [1].

[1] Gardenia.net. “Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) – An In-Depth Look.” https://www.gardenia.net/plant/asarum-canadense

[2] United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS). “Canadian Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense L.).” https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_asca.pdf

[3] Backyard Forager. “Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense).” https://backyardforager.com/wild-ginger-asarum-canadense/

[4] Frontiers in Pharmacology. “Medicinally Used Asarum Species: High-Resolution LC-MS Profiling of Aristolochic Acids.” 2017. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2017.00215/full

[5] National Toxicology Program (U.S.). “Aristolochic Acids – 15th Report on Carcinogens (2021).” 2021. https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/sites/default/files/ntp/roc/content/profiles/aristolochicacids.pdf