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Wild ginger refers to an herbaceous plant genus, Asarum of the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae.

Asarum canadense is native to the forests of eastern North America. It is found from the Great Plains east to the Atlantic Coast, and from southeastern Canada south to approximately the fall line in the southeastern United States.

Asarum caudatum is found in British Columbia south through Washington and Oregon to central California, and from the Coast Range east to western MontanaAlternate meanings: See Montana (disambiguation Montana ( In Detail) (Full size) State nickname: Treasure State Other U. States Capital Helena Largest City Billings Governor Brian Schweitzer Area Total Land Water % water Ranked 4th 381,156 km²377,295 km².

Asarum europaeum, or Asarabacca, is a European plant with single axillary dull purple flowers, lying on the ground. The stems are 10-15 cm long. The leaves are petiolate and reniform and about 10 cm wide. It occurs mostly in deciduous woodland or coniferus forests. In former days, it was used in snuff.

The plant is called wild ginger because the rhizomeIn botany, a rhizome is a horizontal, usually underground stem of a plant that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Also called a creeping rootstalk or rootstock. Many plants have rhizomes that serve to spread the plant by vegetative reproduct tastes and smells similar to that of ginger rootGinger Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Zingiberales Family: Zingiberaceae Genus Zingiber Species officinale Binomial name Zingiber officinale Rosc. Ginger root is used extensively as a cooking in, but the two are not particularly related. The root can be used as a spiceFor information on the spice from Frank Herbert's Dune universe, see melange. Spices are strongly flavored or aromatic parts of plants used in small quantities in food as a preservative, or flavouring in cooking. Spices are distinguished from other plant, but is a potent diureticA diuretic is any drug that tends to increase the flow of urine from the body ( diuresis). Some common diuretics are caffeine and alcohol. Medically, diuretics are used to treat heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver, Hypertension and certain kidney diseas, or urinary stimulant. Asarum canadense and other species in the genus contain the chemical aristolochic acidAristolochic acid is a rodent carcinogen found in Aristolochia species and in Asarum species, both in the Aristolochiaceae family of plants. Aristolochic acid occurs in two forms, aristolochic acid I and aristolochic acid II. Organic compounds., which is carcinogenic in rats. The birthwort family also contains the AristolochiaSee text Aristolochia is a large genus of plants with over 500 species, belonging to the Birthwort family ( Aristolochiaceae). This a genus of evergreen and deciduous woody vines and herbaceous perennials. They are widespread and occur in the most diverse genus. Aristolochia is a human carcinogen.

Wild ginger favors moist, shaded sites with humus-rich soil. The deciduous, heart-shaped leaves are opposite, and borne from the rhizome which lies just under the soil surface. Two leaves emerge each year from the growing tip. The curious jug-shaped flowers, which give the plant an alternate name, "little jug", are borne singly in Spring between the leaf bases.

Wild ginger can easily be grown in a shade garden , and makes an attractive groundcover.