What is "wild ginger"

Ginger \Gin"ger\, n. [OE. ginger, gingever, gingivere, OF. gengibre, gingimbre, F. gingembre, L. zingiber, zingiberi, fr. Gr. ?; of Oriental origin; cf. Ar. & Pers. zenjeb[=i]l, fr. Skr. [,c][.r][.n]gav["e]ra, prop., hornshaped; ???ga horn + v["e]ra body.]

1. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Zingiber, of the East and West Indies. The species most known is Zingiber officinale.

2. The hot and spicy rootstock of Zingiber officinale, which is much used in cookery and in medicine.

   Ginger ale (a) a soft drink flavored with ginger and carbonated. (a) See ginger beer, below.

   Ginger beer or Ginger ale, a mild beer impregnated with ginger.

   Ginger cordial, a liquor made from ginger, raisins, lemon rind, and water, and sometimes whisky or brandy.

   Ginger pop. See Ginger ale (above).

   Ginger wine, wine impregnated with ginger.

   Wild ginger (Bot.), an American herb ( Asarum Canadense) with two reniform leaves and a long, cordlike rootstock which has a strong taste of ginger.

n. 1 Any of the many plants similar to ginger in appearance or aroma. 2 # Any of several species of ''Asarum'', especially (taxlink Asarum caudatum species noshow=1) and ''Asarum canadense''. 3 # Any of the ''Alpinia'' species, especially (taxlink Alpinia caerulea species noshow=1). 4 # (taxlink Curcuma australasica species noshow=1) 5 # (taxlink Hedychium gardnerianum species noshow=1) 6 # (taxlink Asiasarum sieboldi species noshow=1) 7 # (taxlink Siphonochilus aethiopicus species noshow=1) 8 # Any of the numerous ''Zingiber'' species

n. low-growing perennial herb with pungent gingery leaves and rhizomes

Wild ginger may refer to any of a variety of plants, often with a similar appearance, odour or taste to cultivated ginger. Species involved include:

• Any of the Alpinia species, especially A. caerulea, a large tropical flowering plant
• Any of the Asarum species, especially A. caudatum, a groundcover with kidney- or heart-shaped leaves and a small maroon flower and ginger-scented roots
• Curcuma australasica, "Australian turmeric"
• Hedychium gardnerianum, an invasive Himalayan plant with fragrant yellow spiked flowers
• Siphonochilus aethiopicus, "African ginger," a rhizome with a showy purple flower with a yellow center
• Any of the numerous Zingiber species