Wild Ginger Family Aristolochiaceae Some Related Species Asarum caudatum, A.hartwegii, Asarum canadense etc.
Common Names Wild Ginger ,Canada Snakeroot, Heartleaf, Asarabacca, Little Brown Jugs, Colicroot, Birthwort
Wild Ginger is a member of the Birthwort Family (Aristolochiaceae), which consists of 6 genera and 400 species generally characterized by heart shaped leaves and often with relatively large, carrion-scented flowers that are radially symmetrical. The common name of the family is a derivation of the Latin name, which is taken from the Greek aristo meaning "best" and locheia meaning "childbirth." Birthwort employs the Old English suffix "wort" for any plant that had herbal properties.
Habitat (Asarum caudatum) in the deep dark wood from Santa Cruz Redwoods north through British Columbia. From Central Oregon it is found on both sides of the Cascades and east through Idaho through Montana- Probably in other old timber areas. Asarum hartwegii is found in old growth Yellow Pine and Red Fir forests from Tulare County north toward Sierra Nevada up across Klamath toward Oregon and south into coastal range on California to Humboldt County.
Parts used Leaves and root
Preparation Fresh root tincture, 1:2 dry root tincture 1:5 60% alcohol, either 20-50 drops, up to three time a day; simple hot leaf tea.
Collecting Leaf, gather leaves loosely in bundles (if Asarum caudatum) dry in usual manner. Harvest roots in spring or fall but after first frost is best when medicine goes below. Clean roots and dry, store in usual manner breaking them only when you are ready to use them.
Stability The medicine in leaves if stored properly will stay strong for one year. The roots, stored whole, will last longer, perhaps several years. The scent being the parameter of strength.
Constituents resin and volatile oils, with asarin asarone (probably b-) and methyl-eugnol
Actions/Medical diaphoretic, diuretic, carminative, expectorant
Wild Ginger induces sweat. From all over, not just your skin. Your eyes, nose, mouth and stomach. – The main indication being that some part of you is dry. Got a dry head cold, nothing moving in there? A lingering fever? Wild Ginger will initiate secretions; with a hot and dry bronchial problems. It will make you sweat. Also may be used in sluggish, slow menses with slow progesterone buildup of endometrium secretions, it will stimulate the anti coagulant, antimicrobial, and thinning secretions of the uterus. Drink the leaf tea or the root tincture in hot water. If you need to stimulate the eruption of measles or chicken pox, the hot tea or tincture may work quite well.
Perhaps you are getting a fever or get chilled or can’t seem to get to the sweating stage because you took Tylenol or something like that. Take some Wild Ginger to get things going.
Other Uses:
Asarum caudatum, A. hartwegii – Nuxalk ‘ The Bella Coola’ use a decoction of plants externally for headaches, intestinal pain, and knee pain. The Okanagan-Colville use an infusion of the roots as a laxative, and the Skagit eat the leaves to increase appetite. A poultice of heated leaves is used by the Pomo-Kashaya to bring boils to a head and to ease toothaches. The Haudenosaunee ‘Iroquois’ used the roots to preserve meats. The Forest Potawatomi use Wild Ginger "ba’boan" principally to flavor meat or fish and render them more edible (meat preservation I’m thinking), the Menominee use this when a person has a weak stomach and is feeble and it might be fatal to eat something he or she craved. ~ They were then given a small part of the root. A. canadense – Ojibwa adds it to fish soups that are strong in flavor of dark water and chew the root to relieve indigestion.
Besides being used for preserving meat a primary use that may have been use appears to be that of it being used in women. Powdered root A. canadense was extracted for use by women in the treatment of pain associated with the monthly menstrual cycle; as an ‘emmenagogue’ to increase the menstrual flow and as a diuretic. It was also thought to have a deadly effect on fertilization and was consequently used in small doses as a contraceptive tea. It has been called Birthwort in pass times as the root was once given to women in labor to help expel the placenta, but sometimes it resulted in the mother dying due to the aristolochic acid . The second major use of A. Canadense was in the treatment of snakebites. As decoctions of the plant stimulate the production of white blood cells and increase their activity. Wild Ginger also contains a disinfectant which drains off fluid from the wounds.
Roots can be dried and burned as a smoke to repel insects. But one should not uproot Wild Ginger just for use in this way, as there are other alternatives.
It is also used as a charm .
Contraindications Too much can make you nauseous. Its stimulation of uterine mucosa makes it not advisable during pregnancy.
Important Note Wild Ginger is not interchangeable with the Ginger that one may find in a store. The root has similar aromatic properties and should not be used as a substitute because it contains the carcinogen aristolochic acid. They are not related. True Ginger is part of the Zingiberaceae Family. Wild Ginger is part of the Aristolochiaceae family.
Ecological It is more sustainable to harvest the leaves over the rhizome. When harvesting leaves do not up root the whole plant. When harvesting the root, always leave enough for plant preservation.
Reverences Cited:
Medical Plant of the North West by Michael Moore, Crane Red Books. Santa Fe NM USA
http://www.mdidea.com/products/new/new021spectrology.html
http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/98.htm http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/kings/asarum-cana.html
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