CANADA WILDGINGER 



Asarum canadense Linnaeus 



Canada wildginger is one of our earliest spring flowers. Owing to 

 its habit of growth, the flowers, hidden by dead leaves of the preced- 

 ing autumn, are easily overlooked. The rootstocks have the pungent 

 flavor of ginger, but the juice of the leaves and stems is bitter. Lying 

 so close to the ground, and thus sheltered from the winds, the flowers 

 are a refuge for small flies which serve to pollinate them. 



Canada wildginger prefers rich woods, and ranges from North 

 Carolina to Missouri and Kansas, and northward to New Brunswick 

 and Manitoba. 



The sketch was made from a plant that grew on Plummers Island, 

 in the Potomac River, near Washington, District of Columbia. 



PLATE 1 2.7 



