Asarum canadense - Wild Ginger
2015 Theodore Klein Plant Award Winners
Asarum canadense, wild ginger, is a favorite native herbaceous perennial among many plants people because it serves so well as a ground cover in landscape beds. In its native habitat it is frequently found as a small group of plants; it seems that creatures of the forest like the roots and drag bits and pieces around that can lead to random plants showing up in new places in the forest floor and in our landscapes. It is considered non-evergreen so cover is not year round but that factor seems to make it the most hardy when compared to the Asian species. The foliage can be all green or green with some whitish blotches. In the spring the dark brown flowers are hidden from view unless one gets down to the plant level and pulls the leaves back to expose the buds and flowers which in the author's opinion are quite cute. One may come across the term Little Brown Jug for this plant but that mostly applies ot a close relative the Arrowleaf Ginger, Hexastylis arifolia. The plant spread by rhizomes that can be dug and divided in August - Spetember. Late division and replanting into garden beds exposes the weakly rooted divisions to frost heaving and mulch might be helpful in protecting the rhizomes. Note there are leaves of Erythronium americanum, yellow trout lily, in the image with te digging knife.