Wild Ginger Other Common Names: Little Brown Jug, Evergreen Wild Ginger, Heartleaf Scientific Name: Hexastylis arifolia Native to Alabama: Yes
	Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Stephanie Brundage Click on image to enlarge it

 
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Basic Plant Information
	I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous. I keep leaves year-round, so I am evergreen. I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial. I can grow 6 - 10 inches high and 1 - 2 feet wide.
Wikimedia David J. Stang Click on image to enlarge it

 



















 

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Ecological Benefits

This plant provides food for:

Other Pollinators

Other Ecological Benefit(s):

Pollinated by ants and other small, crawling insects

  

 

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Maintenance Notes
Not dormant in winter. Can be an aggressive grower. In the winter, leaves are dark purple to brown. This is not the kind of ginger you buy in the store to eat. When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds.  Water should reach all roots. Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves. Requires average amount of water.
Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.

 

 

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Habitat Requirements
This plant prefers:
Part Sun/ Shade (2-6 hours of sun per day) Shade (Less than 2 hours of sun per day)		Average Watering	Well-drained, Acidic, or Moist Soil

 

 

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Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification
LEAF DESCRIPTION				Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Sally and Andy Wasowski Click on image to enlarge it
Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)
Shape: Cordate	Margin: Entire/Smooth	Arrangement: Alternate	Form: Simple
Description:
Leaves are smooth, pale, whitish green with dark green veins and margins, up to 8 inches long, 4 inches or lower from ground, rise in pairs from the rhizome

FLOWER DESCRIPTION					Wikimedia Halpaugh Click on image to enlarge it
Flower Shape Chart (JPG)
Color: Purple, brown	Shape: Urceolate (urn-shaped)		Bloom Months: Mar - May
Description:
Solitary, growing from the base of the leaf; often covered by leaf litter; leathery, urn-shaped sepals and no petals; three-lobed; mottled or spotted with purple, cream, tan, and brown; inner surface of the sepals is dark purple; flowers are shaped like little brown jugs, hence the common name "Little Brown Jug"

SEED DESCRIPTION
Seed Type: Fruit - Moist fruit	Seed Description: fruit is fleshy capsule; rarely seen
Plant spreads by:
Seeds and Rhizomes/ Tubers/ Roots & Shoots  Grows in isolated clusters, not a mat; seeds are believed to be dispersed by ants

 

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Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle: All plants start life as a seed. The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots. The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground. After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers. After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed. When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again. Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

General Plant Life Cycle - Dreamstime Click on image to enlarge it

 

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Quick Fact Sheet (Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign: Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign: Editable Word Doc

QR Code (Links to this Webpage)

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