Asarum reflexum
| Asarum reflexum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Piperales |
| Family: | Aristolochiaceae |
| Genus: | Asarum |
| Species: | A. reflexum |
| Binomial name | |
| Asarum reflexum | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
|
Homotypic synonyms
Heterotypic synonyms
| |
Asarum reflexum, also known as reflexed wild ginger, is a species of flowering plant in the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae. It is native to eastern North America where it is found primarily in rich deciduous forests. Its name refers to the reflexed sepals of the plant's flower, an important distinguishing character.
Taxonomy
[edit]Asarum reflexum was first described by the American botanist Eugene Pintard Bicknell in 1897.[1] Bicknell collected its type specimen in Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. The epithet reflexum, which means "bent back upon itself",[3] refers to its "characteristically reflected calyx-lobes".[4] This is the primary difference between it and Asarum canadense.
The American botanist Benjamin Lincoln Robinson reduced Asarum reflexum E.P.Bicknell to a variety in 1908 after failing to find a "constant distinction" between it and А. canadense.[5] In the 8th edition of Gray's Manual initially published in 1950, the American botanist Merritt Lyndon Fernald accepted the name Asarum canadense var. reflexum (E.P.Bicknell) B.L.Rob.[6] In 1997, the influential Flora of North America considered the latter to be a synonym of Аsarum canadense L.[7] A master's thesis published in 2025 found morphological and genome-wide SNP data that supports Asarum reflexum as a distinct species.[8] As of August 2026[update], there is growing acceptance of the name Asarum reflexum E.P.Bicknell.[2][9][10]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]Asarum reflexum is native to eastern North America.[2] It ranges latitudinally from southeastern Ontario in Canada to the Gulf Coastal Plain of the southern United States (US), and longitudinally from the Interior Highlands of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma eastward to the coastal Atlantic Plain. In the eastern US, it is common in the Piedmont plateau regions of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.[10] It is found primarily in rich deciduous forests.[7]
Ecology
[edit]Asarum reflexum is a spring-flowering species. In New York, for example, it typically flowers from the third week in April to the first week in May. When the flower finally falls, a new bud appears. By late summer that bud encloses fully-formed leaves and a flower that lies dormant under the leaf litter until the following spring.[11]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Asarum reflexum E.P.Bicknell". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Asarum reflexum E.P.Bicknell". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ Gledhill (2008), p. 327.
- ↑ Bicknell (1897), p. 531.
- ↑ Robinson (1908), p. 32.
- ↑ Fernald (1970), p. 563.
- 1 2 Whittemore, Alan T.; Mesler, Michael R.; Lu, Karen L. (1997). "Asarum canadense". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 6 August 2026 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ↑ Lambert, Brett Shawn (2025). An integrative approach to delimiting the Canadian Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense (Master of Science thesis). The Ohio State University. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ "Asarum reflexum E.P.Bicknell". WFO Plant List. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Asarum reflexum E.P.Bicknell". Flora of the Southeastern United States. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ Bicknell (1897), pp. 532–534.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bicknell, Eugene P. (1897). "A new species of wild ginger hitherto confounded with Asarum canadense L.". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 24 (11): 528–536. doi:10.2307/2478074. JSTOR 2478074.
- Fernald, Merrit Lyndon (1970) [first published in 1950]. Rollins, R. C. (ed.). Gray's Manual of Botany (8th ed.). D. Van Nostrand Company. ISBN 0-442-22250-5.
- Gledhill, David (2008). The Names of Plants (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-86645-3. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- Robinson, B. L. (1908). "Notes on the vascular plants of the northeastern United States". Rhodora. 10 (110): 29–35. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
External links
[edit]- NatureServe (31 July 2026). "Asarum canadense var. reflexum". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- "Asarum reflexum". Tennessee-Kentucky Plant Atlas. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
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