BIRTH WORT FAMILY. 



ARISTOLOCHIACE^. 

 Wild Ginger. Asarum Canadense. 



Found in rich soil in woodlands, blossoming during May. 



The very short stalk barely shows above the ground ; it is large 

 and stout and fibrous, bearing two or three sheaths and terminating in 

 the flower, and the leaf-stems which are from 4 to 8 inches in length. 



The large wide leaf is heart-shaped or rounded, with an entire 

 margin, and strongly marked by the ribs and veins ; the upper surface 

 is velvety to the touch, while it is rough and woolly underneath, and 

 the color is a strong green, whitish beneath. The stem is stout, erect, 

 and slightly woolly. Two or three leaves only are borne on the 

 summit of the stalk. 



The flower has no petals ; the calyx is shaped like a deep, round 

 cup, 3-parted at the top, with curling margins. It is coarse and firm in 

 texture, with a hairy surface ; the outside dull purplish, the divisions 

 reddish-brown or bronze, and the inside of the cup creamy white 

 curiously marked in the bottom by a hexagonal design in purple ; the 

 12 stamens are gathered close about the 6-parted pistil. The single 

 flower is set on a short, bristly stem, that springs from between the 

 leaves, and turns downward, the blossom resting its face upon the 

 earth and burying itself so carefully in the leaf mold that only search 

 reveals it. 



Later in the season the leaves attain a considerable size, four or 

 five inches across ; they are always decorative in shape and color. The 

 root is aromatic, and sharp to the taste, — whence the folk-name. 



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