Wild Ginger

Wild ginger (Hexastylis arifolia), so-called for the distinctive spicy smell of the crushed leaves, is a wildflower found throughout the state in moist woodlands with rich soils. The unusual shape of the flowers gives the plant its other common name: little brown jug.

Wild ginger flowers emerging at ground level among leaf litter and soil, showing small purple-brown tubular blossoms and newly sprouting green leaves.
Photograph by Curtis Hansen
Wild ginger flowers emerging at ground level among leaf litter and soil, showing small purple-brown tubular blossoms and newly sprouting green leaves.