A beautiful native forest ground cover, wild ginger likes to grow in moist soil in shady areas. You will find it wild near creeks and on wet hillsides in the shade. Glossy heart-shaped leaves have a nice spicy ginger-lemon fragrance and the deep pink flowers are worth a search under the leaves on hands and knees. Although named ginger, this plant is not related to the Asian ginger commonly used in cooking. Wild ginger has a spicy flavor and greater warming effect than Asian ginger. It can be boiled in water for tea or used in small quantities to add flavor to cooking. The plant spreads slowly by underground rhizomes and does best in a shade garden with some summer irrigation.