ILLINOIS PLANT INFORMATION NETWORK
 
 ILPIN INFORMATION ON    Asarum canadense
 
 
 CLASS:    DICOTYLEDENAE
 ORDER:    ARISTOLOCHIALES
 FAMILY:   ARISTOLOCHIACEAE
 SCIENTIFIC NAME:  Asarum canadense
 AUTHORITY:  L.
 
 COMMON NAMES:
    CANADA WILD GINGER
    WILD GINGER
 
 SYNONOMY:
     Asarum canadense L. var. acuminatum Ashe
 
 PLANTS CODE: ASCA
 
 NATURAL COMMUNITIES:
     FOREST
       UPLAND FOREST
         DRY-MESIC
         MESIC
         WET-MESIC
       FLOODPLAIN FOREST
     PRIMARY
       BLUFF
 
 
 SAF FOREST COVER TYPE:
     CENTRAL
        Upland oak
           White/Black/Northern Red-  Oak
        Other Central Types
           River Birch - Sycamore
           Silver Maple - American Elm
     NORTHERN
       Northern Hardwoods
           Sugar Maple-Basswood
 
 NATURAL DIVISION:  UNAVAILABLE
 
 COUNTIES:
   CARROLL         COLES           FULTON          JO DAVIESS      KANKAKEE
   KNOX            LEE             LOGAN           MACON           PEORIA
   STEPHENSON      TAZEWELL        WINNEBAGO
 
 GROWTH FORM:  Dicot-herb
 
 TAXONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS:
    ROOTS:  Adventitious   (rhizomes)
    LEAF ARRANGEMENT:    Basal
    LEAF TYPE:   Simple
    LEAF MARGIN:   Entire
    LEAF VENATION:  Pinnate
    LEAF SHAPE:       Cordate
    INFLORESCENCE:   Solitary- few
    FLOWER MEROUS:  3
    FLOWER STRUCTURE:   Incomplete  (no petals)   Regular
    FLOWER COLOR:   Red   Others
    FLOWER PLACEMENT:  Epigynous
    FRUIT:   Capsule
 
 DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTIC COMMENTS:
     Calyx lobes straight in this variety.
 
 GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:
     ORIGIN:   Native
 
 POPULATION DYNAMICS:
     STATE STATUS: Not listed
     FEDERAL STATUS: Not listed
     COMMONNESS:  Uncommon
     ENDEMIC:   NOT-ENDEMIC
 
 BIOLOGIC:
     HABIT:   Forb
     LIFE CYCLE:   Perennial
     REPRODUCTION:   Sexual   Vegetative
     FLOWERING PERIOD:
         MONTH BEGINNING-      4         MONTH END-      5
     TROPHIC STATUS:  Autotrophic
     C02 FIXATION:  C3
     SEX:      Perfect
 
 ECODISTRIBUTION COMMENTS:
     Rich wooded slopes, in valleys, ravine bottoms, and bluff bases.  Locally
     abundant in flood plain woods- Fraxinus americana, Ulmus americana; also more
     upland, mesic areas- Prunus virginiana, Quercus rubra, Tilia americana.
 
 ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS:
     GROWTH OF SPECIES IN VARIOUS CONDITIONS:  No data entered
 
     HABITAT:   Moist
 
 FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS:
     MAJOR DISPERSAL AGENTS:   INSECT
 
 
 FUNCTIONAL DATA COMMENTS:
     Seeds are dispersed by ants (Handel et al., 1981).
 HUMAN RELATIONSHIP DATA:
     ALLERGENIC:  Maybe
     EDIBLE:  Yes
 
     WILD HERBS:   Culinary-flavor
 
 HUMAN FACTOR COMMENTS:
     Use fresh or dried rootstocks as seasoning, as substitute for true ginger.
     Leaves may cause dermatitis.
 
 WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK INFORMATION:   No data entered
 
 REVEGETATION PLANTINGS:
     WEEDINESS:   Non-weedy
 
 
 
 REFERENCES:
Mohlenbrock, R. H., ed.  1975.  Guide to the vascular flora of Illinois.
     Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.  494 pp.
Steyermark, J. A.  1963.  Flora of Missouri.  Iowa State University Press, Ames.
     1725 pp.
Swink, F., and G. S. Wilhelm.  1979.  Plants of the Chicago region.  Third ed.
     The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois.  922 pp.
Gleason, H. A.  1952.  The new Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the
     northeastern United States and adjacent Canada.  3 vols.  The New York
     Botanical Garden, New York.
Mackenzie, K. K.  1940.  North American Cariceae.  2 vols.  The New York
     Botanical Garden, New York.
Medsger, O. P.  1939.  Edible wild plants.  MacMillan Company, New York.
     323 pp.
 
 OTHER REFERENCES:
     Handel, S. N., S. B. Fisch, and G. E. Schatz.  1981.  Ants disperse a
          majority of herbs in a mesic forest community in New York State.
          Torrey Botanical Club Bulletin 108: 430-437.
 
 END OF DATA FOR SPECIES  Asarum canadense
 
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 ILPIN was developed by Louis Iverson*, with data compiled by David Ketzner and Jeanne Karnes
 Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign, IL 61820
     *currently employed by USDA Forest Service, 359 Main Rd., Delaware, OH 43015