A rather small family, chiefly of warm countries, but widely
distributed; herbs or shrubs; the leaves alternate or from the root,
with leaf-stalks, more or less heart-shaped, without stipules; the
flowers perfect, mostly large, symmetrical or irregular in form, with
or without a corolla; the calyx with three or six lobes, or irregular;
the stamens six to many, inserted on the pistil; the ovary wholly or
partly inferior; the fruit a mostly six-celled capsule, containing many
seeds.
There are several kinds of Asarum.
[Sidenote: =Wild Ginger=
_Ásarum Hartwégi_
=Brown
Spring
Cal., Oreg.=]
The handsome leaves of this perennial are its conspicuous feature.
They have long, hairy leaf-stalks and are heart-shaped and toothless,
from three to five inches broad, dark rich green, prettily veined and
often also beautifully mottled with white, smooth on the upper surface
and hairy on the under. We notice them immediately in the damp, dark
woods they live in, but unless we look carefully we miss the single,
large, strange, purplish-brown flower, the color of dead leaves, which
nestles close to the ground as if trying to hide itself. This has
twelve stamens, with stout filaments, and six styles, united at the
base. There are no petals, but the hairy calyx has three lobes, which
are sometimes an inch and a half long, and have long points like tails.
The seed-vessel is roundish, crowned by the withered calyx and stamens.
The rootstock cannot be used as a substitute for ginger, but smells and
tastes very aromatic and pungent. This resembles the Wild Ginger of the
East, but is handsomer.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Wild Ginger--Asarum Hartwegi.]