Description

Each plant bears a pair of large, velvety, heart-shaped leaves. A single purplish-brown flower grows at ground level between two leafstalks. Foliage remains beautiful throughout the season, making wild ginger a good companion to spring ephemerals that go dormant after they bloom. A. canadense is not evergreen and loses its foliage in the winter.

Prefers average to moist, well-drained soil in heavy shade; if happy, spreads by rhizomes to form a groundcover. Does not do well in constantly dry conditions.

Larval host for Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly.

Height: 0.5-1 ft.
Spread: 1-1.5 ft.
Growth rate: Spreads 9-14″ in two years; 16-20″ in five years
Family: Aristolochiaceae
Bloom time: April to May
Sun: part shade to full shade
Water: medium to wet
Deer resistant