Introductory
SPECIES: Asarum caudatum | Wild Ginger 



ABBREVIATION : 
ASACAU

SYNONYMS : 
   Asarum caudatum var. viridifolum M.E. Peck


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   ASCA2


COMMON NAMES : 
   wild ginger
   British Columbia wild ginger


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name for wild ginger is Asarum
caudatum Lindley [20].  It is a member of the Birthwort family,
Aristolochiaceae [14].


LIFE FORM : 
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Mary Lou Zimmerman, May 1991


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
Griffith, Randy Scott, June 1991.


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Zimmerman, Mary Lou; Griffith, Randy Scott. June 1991.  Asarum caudatum.
In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Asarum caudatum | Wild Ginger 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Wild ginger occurs in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia,
Idaho, and Montana [9].  In California it occurs in the Coast Ranges
from the Santa Cruz Mountains northward [14].  In Oregon, Washington,
and British Columbia, it is commonly found from the Pacific Coast east
to the Cascades and is found less frequently on the east side of the
Cascades.  Wild ginger is also found in northern Idaho and western
Montana [9].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES22  Western white pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES24  Hemlock - Sitka spruce
   FRES25  Larch
   FRES27  Redwood
   FRES28  Western hardwoods


STATES : 
     CA  ID  MT  OR  WA  BC


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     CRLA  MORA  NOCA  OLYM  PORE  REDW


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
   1  Northern Pacific Border
   2  Cascade Mountains
   3  Southern Pacific Border
   8  Northern Rocky Mountains


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K001  Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
   K002  Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
   K003  Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
   K004  Fir - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
   K005  Mixed conifer forest
   K006  Redwood forest
   K007  Red fir forest
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K013  Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
   K014  Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
   K015  Western spruce - fir forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   201  White spruce
   206  Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
   210  Interior Douglas-fir
   212  Western larch
   213  Grand fir
   215  Western white pine
   221  Red alder
   223  Sitka spruce
   224  Western hemlock
   225  Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
   226  Coastal true fir - hemlock
   227  Western redcedar - western hemlock
   228  Western redcedar
   229  Pacific Douglas-fir
   230  Douglas-fir - western hemlock
   232  Redwood
   234  Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Wild ginger is commonly found in the understory of grand fir (Abies
grandis), western white pine (Pinus monticola), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii), western redcedar (Thuja plicata), and western hemlock (Tsuga
heterophylla).  In the understory community, wild ginger is commonly
associated with trail plant (Adenocaulon bicolor), queencup beadlily
(Clintonia uniflora), and western goldthread (Coptis occidentalis) [2].

Wild ginger is listed as an indicator or dominant in the following
habitat type (hts) and community type (cts) classifications:

Location             Classification             Authority

n-c ID                  forest cts              Pierce and Peek  1984
n ID                    forest hts,cts          Cooper et al 1987

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Asarum caudatum | Wild Ginger 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 



PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Food:  The roots and new shoots can be baked or roasted, then eaten.
The leaves can be used to cover various foods while baking.  The roots
can be dried and used for seasoning [5].

Landscaping:  Wild ginger is a favorite of native plant gardeners in the
Pacific Northwest.  It is considered high garden quality due to its
characteristic showy heart-shaped leaves, aroma, ease of growth, and
ability to form a dense carpet [9].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Wild ginger will disappear from sites in the more xeric portions of its
range that have been opened up by clearcutting.  Large openings made in
the forest canopy by clearcutting cause an increase in air and soil
temperatures, evaporation rates, and moisture deficits, which present
unfavorable conditions for reestablishment of moisture-loving plants,
such as wild ginger [11].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Asarum caudatum | Wild Ginger 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Wild ginger is a low, trailing, perennial, evergreen, prostrate herb
which is often found in localized patches on the forest floor.  Its
leaves are softly hairy, borne two per node, alternate, simple,
appearing basal, long petioled, heart shaped, persistent, prominently
veined, entire edged, aromatic, dark to bright green, and sometimes
mottled.  Its large, solitary, thimblelike flowers grow close to the
ground and are often concealed by the leaves.  They are brownish-purple
to green and have three broad lobes which taper into long linear tails. The
fruit is a large, fleshy capsule containing small seeds.  The seeds are
angled or compressed, smooth or wrinkled, and have a minute embryo in a
fleshy endosperm.  They are widely distributed.  The roots of wild
ginger are rhizomatous.  They are extensive, slender, elongate,
aromatic, and can become matted.  [5,6,9,14].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Chamaephyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Sexual:  Wild ginger reproduces sexually by seed [9].

Vegetative:  Wild ginger spreads by a system of extensive rhizomes.  It
may form localized patches [9].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Wild ginger is an indicator of moist, shady, lowland to midmontane
forests in Oregon, Washington, and coastal British Columbia [5,8].

Soil:  Wild ginger is characteristic of Moder and Mull humus soil forms
[8].

Climate:  Wild ginger is found in areas with cool temperate and cool
mesothermal climates [8].  In northern Idaho and British Columbia the
climate is an inland expression of the Pacific Maritime influence [15].
This plant prefers locations with moist weather in the fall, winter, and
spring with dry summers [15].

Elevation:  Wild ginger generally occurs below 5,000 feet (1,524 m)
[2,14].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Wild ginger is  shade tolerant [8].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Wild ginger flowers from May through July in California [14], and from
April through July in Oregon and Washington [5].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Asarum caudatum | Wild Ginger 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
In Moder and Mull soil types the organic layers (L,F, and H) are
typically shallow [7].  Therefore, a fire of light to moderate intensity
would remove the organic layers and the vegetative propagules of wild
ginger, thus requiring it to be seeded on the site from an off-site
source [18].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Asarum caudatum | Wild Ginger 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Wild ginger is very susceptible to fire-kill.  Above and belowground
parts can be killed by fires of even light to moderate intensity.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Wild ginger is removed from the understory until it can be seeded onto
the site from an off-site source after fires of light to moderate
intensity.  Studies in Idaho and Oregon found that wild ginger presence
was significantly higher in plots that were clearcut and not burned than
in those plots that were clearcut and then broadcast burned [13,19].
Steen [19] found that wild ginger was absent from the burned stands for
up to 16 years after slash fires of moderate intensity.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Wild ginger did not occur on clearcut and burned plots but did occur on
clearcut and unburned plots in an Oregon study [19].

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Asarum caudatum | Wild Ginger 



REFERENCES : 

 .  Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
       reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
       associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
       U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. 
       [434]

 .  Cooper, Stephen V.; Neiman, Kenneth E.; Steele, Robert; Roberts, David
       W. 1987. Forest habitat types of northern Idaho: a second approximation.
       Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-236. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
       Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 135 p.  [867]

 .  Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
       Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p.  [905]

 .  Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
       1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
       ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p.  [998]

 .  Halverson, Nancy M., compiler. 1986. Major indicator shrubs and herbs on
       National Forests of western Oregon and southwestern Washington.
       R6-TM-229. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
       Pacific Northwest Region. 180 p.  [3233]

 .  Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific
       Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p.  [1168]

 .  Kimmins, J. P. 1987. Forest ecology. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.
       531 p.  [14184]

 .  Klinka, K.; Krajina, V. J.; Ceska, A.; Scagel, A. M. 1989. Indicator
       plants of coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: University of British
       Columbia Press. 288 p.  [10703]

 .  Kruckeberg, A. R. 1982. Gardening with native plants of the Pacific
       Northwest. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 252 p.  [9980]

.  Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
       of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
       American Geographical Society. 77 p.  [1384]

.  Larsen, J. A. 1924. Some factors affecting reproduction after logging in
       northern Idaho. Journal of Agricultural Research. 28(11): 1149-1157. 
       [12934]

.  Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
       Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
       Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p.  [20090]

.  Mueggler, W. F. 1961. Ecology of seral shrub communities in the
       cedar-hemlock zone of northern Idaho. Durham, NC: Duke University. 126
       p. Thesis.  [9981]

.  Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA:
       University of California Press. 1905 p.  [6155]

.  Neiman, K. E., Jr. 1988. Synecology of western redcedar in the northern
       rocky mountains. In: Smith, N. J., ed. Western red cedar--does it have a
       future?; [Date of conference unknown]; [Location of conference unknown].
       Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia, Faculty of Forestry:
       114-121.  [6704]

.  Pierce, D. John; Peek, James M. 1984. Moose habitat use and selection
       patterns in north-central Idaho. Journal of Wildlife Management. 48(4):
       1334-1343.  [12516]

.  Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
       geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p.  [2843]

.  Ryan, Kevin C.; Noste, Nonan V. 1985. Evaluating prescribed fires. In:
       Lotan, James E.; Kilgore, Bruce M.; Fischer, William C.; Mutch, Robert
       W., technical coordinators. Proceedings--symposium and workshop on
       wilderness fire; 1983 November 15-18; Missoula, MT. Gen. Tech. Rep.
       INT-182. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
       Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: 230-238.  [12456]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
       National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
       SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p.  [11573]

Related categories for Species: Asarum caudatum | Wild Ginger