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Asarum canadense - L.

Snake Root

Author	L.	Botanical references	43, 200, 270
Family	Aristolochiaceae	Genus	Asarum
Synonyms
Known Hazards	The leaves are poisonous[19]. Handling the leaves is said to cause dermatitis in some people[269].
Range	Eastern N. America - Manitoba to New Brunswick, south to N. Carolina and Kansas.
Habitat	Moist rich soils in woodlands, usually on calcareous soils[43, 159]. Understorey of deciduous (rarely coniferous) forests from sea level to 1300 metres[270].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	3 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious Perennial growing to 0.1m by 0.5m at a slow rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Deep Shade; Ground Cover;

Edible Uses

Edible Uses: Condiment.

The underground stem and the flowers are used as a ginger substitute[2, 55, 106, 177, 183]. The root, especially when quite dry, has a pungent, aromatic smell like mild pepper and ginger mixed, but more strongly aromatic[245]. The root is best harvested in autumn but is available all year round[159]. It can be dried for later use[159].

Medicinal Uses

Anthelmintic; Antiasthmatic; Antibiotic; Antitumor; Carminative; Contraceptive; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Expectorant; Irritant; Poultice; Salve; Stimulant; Stomachic; Tonic.

Snake root was widely employed as a medicinal herb by a number of native North American tribes who used it to treat a wide range of ailments[257]. It is still occasionally used in modern herbalism. The root is anthelmintic, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, irritant, powerfully stimulant, stomachic and tonic[4, 21, 46, 200, 238, 257]. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[4]. It is used in the treatment of chronic chest complaints, asthma, coughs, colds, dropsy, painful spasms of the bowels and stomach, scant or painful menstruation, infantile convulsions[4, 257]. The fresh leaves are applied as a poultice to wounds and inflammations, whilst a decoction or salve is applied to sores[257]. The root contains antibiotic substances effective against broad-spectrum bacteria and fungi[207]. It also contains aristolochic acid, which has antitumor activity[222]. The root and rhizome were slowly boiled in a small quantity of water for a long time and the resulting liquid drunk as a contraceptive by the women of one N. American Indian tribe[213].

Other Uses

Ground cover; Incense.

The slightly roasted root can be ground into a powder and then sprinkled onto clothing for perfume[257]. A useful ground cover for a shady position so long as it is not dry[197], spreading by its roots[208].

Scented Plants

Root: Crushed Dried

The root, especially when quite dry, has a pungent, aromatic smell like mild pepper and ginger mixed, but more strongly aromatic.

Cultivation details

Prefers a rich moist neutral to acid soil in woodland or a shady position in the rock garden[1, 200]. Plants are found on alkaline soils in the wild[43]. Plants are hardy to at least -25°c[200]. The flowers are malodorous and are pollinated by flies[200]. Plants often self-sow when growing in a suitable position[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the summer[134]. Stored seed will require 3 weeks cold stratification and should be sown in late winter[134]. The seed usually germinates in the spring in 1 - 4 or more weeks at 18°c[134]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out when large enough in late spring. Division in spring or autumn. Plants are slow to increase[200]. It is best to pot the divisions up and keep them in light shade in the greenhouse until they are growing away strongly.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Ground cover plants., Plants for Problem Places - North Facing Walls and Deep Shade.

Permaculture.info Details of this plant in the Permaculture.info project, a community plant and permaculture database.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[19] Stary. F. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn 1983 ISBN 0-600-35666-3
Not very comprehensive, but easy reading.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[55] Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973
Interesting reading.

[106] Coon. N. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press 1975 ISBN 0-87857-090-x
Interesting reading but short on detail.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[197] Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells. 1989 ISBN 0-304-31089-1
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.

[270] Flora of N. America 0
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.

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