asarum

American  

[as-er-uhm] / ˈæs ər əm /

noun

Chemistry.

1. the dried rhizome and roots of wild ginger that yield an acrid resin and a volatile, aromatic oil, used chiefly as a flavoring.

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asarum British  

/ ˈæsərəm /

noun

1. the dried strong-scented root of the wild ginger plant: a flavouring agent and source of an aromatic oil used in perfumery, formerly used in medicine

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Etymology

Origin of asarum

< Latin < Greek ásaron hazelwort, wild spikenard

Example Sentences

A study published this month in the journal Science explored the exact genetic mechanisms of Asarum flowers to figure out how they pull this off, exploring the ways some plants in the genus produce dimethyl disulfide, that corpse-smell compound.

From Salon

There is even the occasional anagram, where an existing genus name is remixed to form a new, botanically related one: Saruma is a cousin of the more familiar Asarum, like the native ground-cover ginger, Asarum canadense.

From New York Times

A little farther along are whole drifts of the hardy but deciduous native ginger, Asarum canadense, which spreads assertively in rich humus but is easily controlled.

From Washington Post

This is not to be confused with the hardy ginger named Asarum, of which Avent offers five Asian species.

From Washington Post

In the herbal preparations that they tested, Bunce and his colleagues found members of 68 plant families, among them plants of the genera Ephedra and Asarum.

From Washington Post