The 137 species of Asarum are plants of quiet woodland corners — low-growing, rhizomatous, and content in the shade that defeats showier plants. Spread across temperate Asia and North America with a single outlier in Europe, they share a distinctive form: paired heart-shaped leaves rising from underground rhizomes, and unusual bell- or jug-shaped flowers in brownish to purplish tones that open close to the soil surface in spring. The flowers rarely get noticed by passing gardeners, but the flies responsible for pollination find them reliably.

As a genus, Wild Ginger excels in the roles that many shade gardens struggle to fill — groundcover beneath trees, edging in a woodland path, a spreading mat in a rock or native garden. The rhizomes spread steadily rather than aggressively, and division is straightforward when the clump outgrows its space. Despite the name and the genuine ginger-like scent of the foliage, these plants are not culinary relatives of cooking ginger, and consumption is not recommended due to nephrotoxic compounds. Plant them in moist, well-drained fertile soil in shade, give them time to establish, and they will knit together into something deeply satisfying.