Asarum canadense
Dublin Core
Title
Asarum canadense
Subject
Taxonomy
Phylum : Tracheophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Piperales
Family : Aristolochiaceae
Genus : Asarum
Species : Asarum canadense
Phylum : Tracheophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Piperales
Family : Aristolochiaceae
Genus : Asarum
Species : Asarum canadense
Synonyms
Asarum acuminatum (Ashe) E.P.Bicknell, Asarum ambiguum (E.P.Bicknell) Daniels, Asarum carolinianum Walter, Asarum furcatum Raf., Asarum latifolium Salisb., Asarum medium Raf., Asarum parvifolium Raf., Asarum reflexum E.P.Bicknell, Asarum rubrocinctum Peattie, Asarum villosum Muhl. ex Duch., Asarum ypsilantennse Walpole.
Common name
Canada snakeroot, Canadian snakeroot oil, Canadian wild ginger, colic root, Indian ginger, Vermont snakeroot, wild ginger, wild ginger oil, American wild ginger
Description
Characteristics
A herbaceous perennial is hairy, especially the petioles and calyx.
A herbaceous perennial is hairy, especially the petioles and calyx.
Morphology
Leaves
Cordate-rotund to cordatereniform, mostly 8-12 cm wide at anthesis and larger at maturity.
Flowers
Solitary, red-brown in colout and 2-4 cm. They are short peduncled and arising between the pair of leaves.
Fruit
Capsular and opening irregularly.
Seeds
Large, ovoid, and wrinkled.
Rhizome
Produces annually a pair of petiolate, broad, hairy leaves and these are deciduous at the end of the season.
Chemical compound
A. canadense has been reported to contain methyl eugenol, (E)-isoelemicin, hydrocarbon monoterpenes, (Z)-3-hexenol, trans-pinocarveol, (Z)-isoelemicin, oplopanone. Other chemical includes, methyleugenol, linalyl acetate, geraniol, linalool, limonene, a-terpineol, bornyl acetate, aristolone, elemicin, 2,3,4, 5-tetramethoxyallylbenzene and 2, 4-dimethoxycinnamaldehyde.
Plant part used
Root, rhizomes and leaves
Traditional uses
- A. canadense has been used by several Native American tribes for a variety of conditions including gastrointestinal complaints, colds and fevers or dermatological ailment.
- In Indian tribes, the Rappahannocks steeped the leaves to reduce fever in typhoid.
- In addition to treating various kinds of digestive disorders, the rhizome has been used to both season and improve the edibility of meats and fish.
- Ojibwa tribes use a warm poultice of wild ginger and spikenard, covered with cloth and bound with fitted cedar splints for the treatment of fractured arm.
- Decoction of boiled root and rhizomes were used for an oral contraceptive.
Medicinal uses
- Applications and uses of the plant for treating upper respiratory infections.
- A. canadense was not only useful as a diaphoretic, but also as a stimulant to the immune system.
- Typically infusions of the seed or rhizome were used to ease menstrual discomfort or to initiate menstruation in women with irregular periods.
List of country
New Brunswick and Quebec to Ontario and Minnesota, south to North Carolina, northern Alabama and northern Louisiana.
Creator
Asarum canadense(Linnaeus,1753)
Source
Publisher
Nur Athirah Roshaizi
Contributor
Nur Athirah Roshaizi
Language
English
Collection
Citation
Asarum canadense(Linnaeus,1753), “Asarum canadense,” BIDARA, accessed February 4, 2026, https://bidara.uthm.edu.my/items/show/443.