- Asarum europaeum
taxobox
name = European wild ginger
image_caption = Flower and emerging spring leaves on a specimen from the Schwäbisch-Fränkischer Forest inGermany
regnum =Plant ae
unranked_divisio =Angiosperm s
unranked_classis =Magnoliid s
ordo =Piperales
familia =Aristolochiaceae
genus = "Asarum"
species = "A. europaeum"
binomial = "Asarum europaeum"
binomial_authority = L.|"Asarum europaeum", commonly known as Asarabacca, European Wild Ginger, Haselwort, and Wild Spikenard, is a species of
wild ginger with single axillary dull purple flowers, lying on the ground. It is widespread across Europe, ranging from southernFinland and northernRussia south to southernFrance ,Italy and theRepublic of Macedonia . It is also grown extensively outside of its range as an ornamental. The stems are 10-15 cm long. The leaves are petiolate and reniform and about 10 cm wide. It occurs mostly in deciduous woodland or coniferous forests, especially incalcareous soils. There are two recognised subspecies other than the type, including "A. europaeum" ssp. "caucasicum", which is confined to the southwesternAlps , and "A. europaeum" ssp. "italicum", which is found in central and northern Italy as well as in theCrna Gora mountains in formerJugoslavia . In former days, it was used in snuff and also medicinally as anemetic andcathartic . It is quite shade-tolerant and is often employed as a ground cover in gardens where little else will grow.Description
The plant is a perennial and has prostrate stems that each bear 2 reniform (i.e. kidney-shaped) leaves with long petioles. The upper surface of the leaves is shiny and they have a pepper-like taste and smell. There are also 2 to 3
stipule s present that occur in two rows opposite each other on the stem. theflower s are solitary, terminal and nodding. The flower tube is composed of fusedtepal s that ends with 3 petal-like projections that are brownish towards their ends and dark purple toward the centre. There are 12stamen s present. The flowers emerge in the late winter and spring.Distribution and habitat
"Asarum europaeum" has a wide distribution in Europe. It ranges from southern
Finland and northernRussia south to southernFrance ,Italy ,Croatia ,Bosnia and Herzegovina and theRepublic of Macedonia . It is absent from theBritish Isles andScandinavia with the exception of southern Finland, and also from northwesternGermany de icon cite book| last =Schmeil| first =Otto| authorlink =| coauthors =Fitschen, Jost; Seybold, Siegmund| title =Flora von Deutschland, 93. Auflage| publisher =Quelle & Meyer Verlag| date =2006| location =Wiebelsheim| pages =p. 190| isbn =3-494-01413-2] and theNetherlands . Within Europe, the plant is grown outside of its range in theUnited Kingdom ,Denmark ,Sweden ,Norway and the Netherlands.citation| contribution=Asarum europaeum| title=Flora Europaea| editor-last=Tutin, T.G.; V. H. Heywood; N. A. Burges; D. H. Valentine; S. M. Walters; D. A. Webb| publisher=Cambridge University Press| contribution-url=http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Asarum&SPECIES_XREF=europaeum]References
External links
*commons-inline
* [http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/asara071.html Profile at Botanical.com]
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