For many years, it was believed that wild ginger was pollinated by beetles and flies. It was believed that the flowers attract flies by mimicking decomposing flesh. Since the flowers are close to the ground, flies find them as they emerge from the ground in spring. However, there is little evidence that this happens. Instead, it is now believed that they are almost entirely self-pollinated.
Like many other spring-blooming wildflowers, wild ginger relies on ants to help disperse its seeds. The seeds contain elaiosomes, which are fleshy structures that are full of fats. Ants will collect the seeds and bring them back to their nests to feed on the elaiosomes.
Once the ants he eaten the elaiosome, they will dispose of the seed in an abandoned gallery in their nests or a trash pile close to their nests. Doing so provides the seeds with an area that has lots of nutrients that will aid their growth and helps disperse the seeds away from the parent plant.
If deer or rabbits are a problem in your landscape, you’re in luck. Wild ginger is considered to be deer and rabbit resistant as they find it unpalatable.
Is Wild Ginger the Same as Ginger?Despite its common name, wild ginger is not related to culinary ginger (Zingiber officinale), commonly used in cooking. In fact, they aren’t even closely related; wild ginger belongs to Aristolochiaceae, or the birthwort family (Dutchman’s pipe, Aristolochia macrophylla, is another member), while culinary ginger is part of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae).
However, the plants do he a ginger-like odor and flor and were used by Native Americans and European settlers as a spice. The roots were harvested, dried, and then ground into a powder. Roots were also cooked in sugar water to create candied roots, and the leftover liquid was boiled to create a syrup. The plants were also used to treat various ailments.
Unfortunately, wild ginger contains aristolochic acid, which is a carcinogenic compound that can also damage the kidneys. Because of this, the consumption of wild ginger is not recommended.
Good Growing fact of the week: What many people call the petals of wild ginger are actually three fused sepals; the flowers don’t he petals.
References and for more information
Armitage, A M. 2020. Herbaceous Perennial Plants: A Treatise on Their Identification, Culture, and Garden Attributes. Champaign, Illinois: Stipes Publishing, LLC.
“Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases.” n.d. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Accessed April 15, 2025. https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/.
Hayden, W John. 2010. “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover: The Curious Case of Wild Ginger Pollination.” Bulletin of the Virginia Native Plant Society 29 (1): 1. https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1143&context=biology-faculty-publications
Kelly, Lawrence M. 2009. “Taxonomy of Asarum Section Asarum (Aristolochiaceae).” Systematic Botany 26 (1): 17–53. https://doi.org/10.1043/0363-6445-26.1.17.
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MEET THE AUTHORKen Johnson is a Horticulture Educator with University of Illinois Extension, serving Calhoun, Cass, Greene, Morgan, and Scott counties since 2013. Ken provides horticulture programming with an emphasis on fruit and vegetable production, pest management, and beneficial insects. Through his programming, he aims to increase backyard food production and foster a greater appreciation of insects.