Asarum hartwegii

asarum_hartwegii_flwrAsarum hartwegii, Hartweg’s Wild Ginger, is endemic to the Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens.  The marbled leaves grow low to the ground and cover up its distinctive long sepals which are held at ground level.  Growing from rhizomes, Hartweg’s Wild Ginger is pollinated by gnats and small flies. Its seeds are covered with a protein-rich substance that ants take to their underground nests.  After eating the covering, the seeds are left to germinate and, in that way, Mother Nature propagates this species.