The colors below indicate the kind of documentation available for this species
in the California counties where it occurs.
Wild Ginger Asarum hartwegii (Aristolochiaceae)
The expanded flowers of wild ginger are said to look like some hobgoblin spider lurking for its prey. The flowers, which are borne close to the ground, lack petals altogether. The three spreading petal-like lobes are, in fact, calyx lobes. After pollination, which is probably accomplished by flies, the fruit develops into a fleshy capsule that produces numerous seeds with fleshy edible appendages attractive to ants, that in turn disperse the seeds.
DISTRIBUTION: Found in dry rocky slopes in open forest from the Klamath and Cascade ranges in the northwestern most counties to the higher portions of the Sierra Nevada, from 150–2200m.
