Talk:Wild ginger

Proposed rename
I'm going to rename this article Asarum, in keeping with standard Wiki policy of avoiding common names, unless anyone can produce a good reason not to. The name wild ginger refers to a lot of different plants worldwide, and is most correctly applied to the numerous species of Zingiber.Ethel Aardvark (talk) 02:37, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

Untitled comment
I've often seen a plant which strongly resembles wild ginger, but the leaves are longer and more pointed, grows profusely but not as closely as wild ginger, and--until this spring--I could not find the basal flowers. This spring I found one plant with three maroon capsules at it's base. Looking around, I could find no others with this. In the past, I thought this was just a look-alike, but now wondering if there is a related species or variety with this growth habit. I grow the canadense version in my garden, so can compare. Any thoughts?
 * I have a similar plant ID question. Small maroon basal flowers, but a very round kidney-shaped leaf with a smooth edge (no scalloping, or angular teeth as with coltsfoot) and no heart-shaped point. Also, the leaves are hearty in texture, a bit thick and leathery. I suspect that this, and your similar heart-shaped leaf plant, are closely related. --Karinpower (talk) 05:09, 8 November 2014 (UTC)


 * User:209.98.145.91 and Karinpower: Asarum/Hexastylis fit those descriptions, which are not actually members of the true ginger family, Zingiberaceae. Apparently the leaves can vary significantly in form though, so I don't know how useful those are in identifying the plants. Noting your geographic location may help narrow down the possibilities. There are pictures of several species of Asarum here and here.-- O BSIDIAN  †  S OUL  04:37, 11 November 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks for responding and providing those excellent photos. I did quite a bit more reading after posting that comment and am fairly certain that I have Asarum canadese. Here in the Pacific NW it's apparently indigenous so it's so surprise, and both leaf shape/texture (not shiny like Asarum europaeum) and small maroon jug-shaped flower are consistent. Regarding the other poster's plant, it seems that the various forms of Asarum have a lot of different lengths of heart shape, and the flower sounds like Asarum to me. Cheers and happy plant explorations!--Karinpower (talk) 05:03, 11 November 2014 (UTC)
 * Cheers. :) -- O BSIDIAN  †  S OUL  08:16, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

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