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Asarum europaeum

Common name:	Asarabacca	Family:	Aristolochiaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The plant is poisonous in large doses[13, 19], the toxin is neutralized by drying[7].
Range:	Central and southern Europe, east to W. Asia. Naturalized in Britain[17].
Habitat:	Open woodland and waterside thickets[13, 19], especially in beech woodlands[7].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Asarabacca [L,H], Asaroun [E], Azarum [E], European Ginger Root [H], Hazelwort [H], Wild Nard [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	europaeum = European
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Aristolochiales. Birthwort family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	France Tunisia Turkey

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 0.1m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 4. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

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 and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Cathartic Diaphoretic Emetic Errhine Sternutatory Stimulant Tonic.

Asarabacca has a long history of herbal use dating back at least to the time of the ancient Greeks, though it is little used in modern herbalism[268].
The root, leaves and stems are cathartic, diaphoretic, emetic, errhine, sternutatory, stimulant and tonic[4, 7, 9, 13, 21, 46, 240]. The plant has a strong peppery taste and smell[244]. It is used in the treatment of affections of the brain, eyes, throat and mouth[4, 19]. When taken as a snuff, it produces a copious flow of mucous[268]. The root is harvested in the spring and dried for later use[7]. Use with caution[21], see the notes above on toxicity.
An essential oil in the root contains 50% asarone and is 65% more toxic than peppermint oil[240]. This essential oil is the emetic and expectorant principle of the plant and is of value in the treatment of digestive tract lesions, silicosis, dry pharyngeal and laryngeal catarrh etc[240].

Other Uses

Dye Ground cover.

A vibrant apple-green dye is obtained from plant[7, 244].
A useful ground cover for a shady position so long as it is not dry[197], spreading by its roots[208].

Cultivation details

Prefers a rich moist neutral to acid soil in woodland or a shady position in the rock garden[1, 200]. Other reports say that this plant prefers a calcareous soil[13, 19, 268].
Plants are hardy to at least -15° c[200].
The flowers are malodorous and are pollinated by flies[200].
The root has a pungent, aromatic smell like mild pepper and ginger mixed, but more strongly aromatic.
Plants often self-sow when growing in a suitable position[200].
This plant was at one time commonly cultivated as a medicinal herb[17].

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.

Scent

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

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for asarum europaeum (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Aristolochiaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

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]).

[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.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on 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.

[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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