Wild Ginger
Asarum canadense L.
Once established, wild ginger will grow into a colony that can expand up to six to eight inches in all directions each year. They will move themselves to the optimal locations in your shade garden to an environment and soil that is most beneficial to them.
Height: 6″ to 8″
Spread: 12″ to 24″
Zones: 3-8
Days to Harvest:
Container: no
Deer Resistant: yes
Plant Color: deep green
Bloom Color: brown
Life Cycle: perennial
Spacing: 12″
Juglone Tolerant: yes
Sunlight: shade
Soil: moist, average
Water: higher
Design Styles: shade gardens
Guild Use: pawpaw tree herbaceous layer
History
Native Americans and early Euro-American settlers used wild ginger as a spice. The root was harvested, dried, and then ground into a powder.
Early settlers boiled pieces of the root in sugar water for several days to obtain a ginger-flavored, candied root. The left over liquid was then boiled down to syrup that was used on pancakes and other food items, although this is not encouraged today as research has shown that the root contains poisonous compounds.
Native Americans and then Euro-American settlers also used the plant as a poultice to treat wounds. The roasted powdered root was also sprinkled on clothes as a type of perfume.
Uses
These are ways you can use this plant in your landscape or farm:
* medicinally, to make a poultice
* as a ground cover for heavy shade areas
* in locations that have a heavy deer population
Design
You can place wild ginger in these types of locations… beneath a black walnut tree in an area with high deer predation, in a native forest garden, and use as a heavy shade ground cover.
Benefits
By choosing this plant, the benefit to the environment is that is it native to the eastern and midwestern parts of the U.S., and as such makes it a low to no care option for areas with heavy shade, has a large deer population, and is a plant that will grow beneath a black walnut tree where many other plants will not grow. Be aware that wild ginger will benefit if the soil is prepared, prior to planting, to be more like a forest, such as by adding composted leaves.
Parting Thoughts
The flower of wild ginger is similar in color and shape to those of the native Pawpaw tree. It evolved to attract small pollinating flies that emerge from the ground early in the spring. And again, like the papaw, the flower, scentless to humans, attract a type of fly that looks for a thawing carcass of an animal that did not survive the winter, with this insect carrying the pollen from flower to flower.
When the seeds ripen, they have an oily appendage attached to the seed that attracts ants. The ants then carry the seeds to their home, where the this oily appendage is eaten. The seed is left intact, where it germinates in spring, without any possibility for predation since it is underground.
In regards to using this plant as a food or spice that is ingested, the literature is mixed. Some will mention their are harmful compounds, while others will state the health benefits. As with other, similar, foraged plants such as sassafras, it’s wise to be aware of the research and use, and then make the best decision for you.
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