Asarum hartwegii

Marbled Wild Ginger, Asarum hartwegii, is a perennial that will sometimes be evergreen sometimes not. It's leaves are marbled green, and the flowers are maroon. This grows at 1000-2500 m. in N. Ca. and Oregon. A SLOW grower (one leaf for years) and difficult in containers or where conditions aren't perfect. The healthiest clump I've seen to date was in a seasonal seep, on a north slope in heavy duff under a California Nutmeg. The leaves where 6 inches across and dark green. If planted in the understory of a forest it can live for 50 or more years. Companion plants include Dicentra, Staphylea, Acer macrophyllum, Cornus nuttallii, Actaea rubra ssp. arguta, Torreya californica, Heuchera micrantha, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Incense Cedar Quercus Kelloggii, Corylus cornuta, Streptopus amplexicaulis, Aquilegia formosa and Smilacina racemosa.