By lying next to the ground flower is readily found by the emerging flies. The flower evolved to attract small pollinating flies that emerge from the ground early in the spring looking for a thawing carcass of an animal that did not survive the winter. The color and the location of the flower have an unusual and interesting story. Some folks liken the flower to a little knocked over jug on the ground. The flowers are bell shaped with three acuminate-reflexed tips. Wild ginger’s flower is located at the base of the plant lying adjacent to the ground. The plants are softly pubescent especially the leaf petiole and the flower. Many a hiker has walked past the large colonies of this early spring wildflower not realizing that it has an interesting and peculiar flower underneath the canopy of its heart-shaped leaves. It grows in rich mesic soils in shady deciduous forests. Wild Ginger ( Asarum canadense L.)Īsarum canadense, wild ginger, is found throughout the eastern half of the United States. Some botanists and entomologists believe the inside of the flower also provides for a place where the early spring flies can “hide out” to avoids cold winds and temperatures. The flowers of wild ginger occur at the ground level where flies coming from beneath the leaves in early spring find a fake carcass. The leaves of a colony of wild ginger are beautiful to behold. USDA PLANTS Database.īeautiful rusty brown hairs cover the rusty brown recurved tips of the flower and white hairs cover the flower and leaf stems and the backside of the flower.
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