Discover Wild Ginger's hidden flower and culinary history

Type: Interesting

Description:
Wild Ginger (Asrum Candense) actually requires removal of leaf litter to see it flower which literally lies on the ground. You can identify Wild Ginger by looking for its paired distinctly heart-shaped leaves. Both the leaves and stems are hair or pubescent. To find the flower, trace down one of the leaf stems. A short stem arises from the joint between two stem leaves right at ground level. On the end of this stem you will an odd-shaped 3 petaled maron flower lying on the ground. The flower is reminescent of a jug lying on the ground. The flower is pollinated by flies and carrion beetles.Its color is that of rotting meat. Ants come to carry away seeds after pollination. Each seed has an attached eliasome. An eliasome is a lipid and nutrient rich packet that the ants seek out. The ants carry the seed back to the nest, remove the eliasome and discard the seed in a pile of frass, a perfect mulch-like enviroment for germination. The root of the plant was chopped up, boiled in sugar water and dried to make a ginger flavored candy. Similarly, a ginger-flavored syrup could be boiled down as well as crystalized sugar candy. Indigenous peoples used extracts to decrease decay of meat and in as poultice on wounds. Modern science has since discovered several antibiotic, antimicrobial chemicals in Wild Ginger. Sadly, they have also discovered several potentialy carcinogenic compounds and several toxic compounds as well. Based on these findings I do not recommend ingestion today of wild ginger or its extracts. My channel is dedicated to environmental education and teaching about nature, biology and ethnobotany of plants. I encourage outdoor, hands-on learning about nature around you.

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Video length: 06:05