A native of woodlands in Eastern North America, this herbaceous perennial has bright green, deciduous, kidney-shaped leaves. They are up to seven inches across and carried on hairy petioles one inch long. The purplish-brown flowers that appear in spring are one inch across and have long pointed reflexed lobes but are not usually visible because they hide under the foliage or in the leaf litter. You wouldn’t want them anyway because they smell like a decomposing corpse. Plants are low maintenance, disease and deer resistant, and form colonies that smother weeds. Also known as Canadian snake root and broad-leaved asarabacca, Canadian wild ginger is a member of the birthwort family, Aristolochiaceae, that also includes Dutchman’s pipe, but does NOT include culinary ginger. The genus name, Asarum, may come from the Latin word asa meaning alter or sanctuary. The specific epithet, canadense, refers to North America where the plant is native.
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Height: 6″
Light: Full to part shade
Soil: Consistently moist, well-drained
Spread speed: Moderate
Propagation: Division
Hardiness: Zones 2-9
Outstanding Selections:
‘Eco Medallion’ (silvery sheen to leaves)
‘Eco Choice’ (denser than species)
‘Eco Red Giant’ (larger than species)
Photo Credit: David J Stang, Wikimedia Commons