Asarum canadense
| Asarum canadense | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 2 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 0.3' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Asarum canadense (common name: snake root)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the summer[1]. Stored seed will require 3 weeks cold stratification and should be sown in late winter[1]. The seed usually germinates in the spring in 1 - 4 or more weeks at 18°c[1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out when large enough in late spring.
Division in spring or autumn. Plants are slow to increase[2]. It is best to pot the divisions up and keep them in light shade in the greenhouse until they are growing away strongly.
Cultivation: Prefers a rich moist neutral to acid soil in woodland or a shady position in the rock garden[3][2]. Plants are found on alkaline soils in the wild[4].
Plants are hardy to at least -25°c[2].
The flowers are malodorous and are pollinated by flies[2].
Plants often self-sow when growing in a suitable position[2].
Range: Eastern N. America - Manitoba to New Brunswick, south to N. Carolina and Kansas.
Habitat: Moist rich soils in woodlands, usually on calcareous soils[4][5]. Understorey of deciduous (rarely coniferous) forests from sea level to 1300 metres[6].
Edibility: The underground stem and the flowers are used as a ginger substitute[7][8][9][10][11]. The root, especially when quite dry, has a pungent, aromatic smell like mild pepper and ginger mixed, but more strongly aromatic[12]. The root is best harvested in autumn but is available all year round[5]. It can be dried for later use[5].
Medicinal: Snake root was widely employed as a medicinal herb by a number of native North American tribes who used it to treat a wide range of ailments[13]. It is still occasionally used in modern herbalism.
The root is anthelmintic, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, irritant, powerfully stimulant, stomachic and tonic[14][15][16][2][17][13]. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[14]. It is used in the treatment of chronic chest complaints, asthma, coughs, colds, dropsy, painful spasms of the bowels and stomach, scant or painful menstruation, infantile convulsions[14][13]. The fresh leaves are applied as a poultice to wounds and inflammations, whilst a decoction or salve is applied to sores[13].
The root contains antibiotic substances effective against broad-spectrum bacteria and fungi[18]. It also contains aristolochic acid, which has antitumor activity[19].
The root and rhizome were slowly boiled in a small quantity of water for a long time and the resulting liquid drunk as a contraceptive by the women of one N. American Indian tribe[20].
Usage: The slightly roasted root can be ground into a powder and then sprinkled onto clothing for perfume[13].
A useful ground cover for a shady position so long as it is not dry[21], spreading by its roots[22].
Pollinators: Flies
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The leaves are poisonous[23]. Handling the leaves is said to cause dermatitis in some people[24].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ Flora of North America.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ Coon, Nelson. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press, 1975.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ Napier, Elspeth. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells, 1989.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.
- ↑ Stary, Frantisek. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn, 1983.
- ↑ Duke, James. Handbook of Energy Crops. 1983.