The creeping rhizome was candied and used like commercial ginger, which is unrelated. Wild ginger forms a fine ground cover for shady spots, especially under deciduous trees such as oaks, maples etc. The plants do well in many soil types but prefer not to remain bone dry for long. The thick rhizome should be planted barely below the soil's surface, with the thinner roots going downward several inches. Wild Ginger loses all its leaves when over stressed or when freezing weather approaches.
Height reaches about six inches.