Asarabacca

The prostrate stems are 10–15 centimetres (3.9–5.9 in) long, each bearing two reniform leaves with long petioles. The leaves are about 10 cm wide. The upper surface of the leaves is shiny, and they have a pepper-like taste and smell. There are also 2 to 3 stipules present that occur in two rows opposite each other on the stem. The flowers are solitary, terminal and nodding. The flower tube is composed of fused tepals that ends with 3 petal-like projections that are brownish towards their ends and dark purple toward the centre. There are 12 stamens present. The flowers emerge in the late winter and spring.

Asarum europaeum has a wide distribution in Europe. It ranges from southern Finland and northern Russia south to southern France, Italy, the former Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria. It is absent from the British Isles and Scandinavia, and also from northwestern Germany and the Netherlands. Within Europe, the plant is grown outside of its range in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands. It occurs mostly in deciduous woodland or coniferous forests, especially in calcareous (chalky) soils.

Yaroshenko, Nataliia; Skliar, Viktoriia (6 December 2022). "Onthogenetic and Vitality Structure of Asarum Europaeum in Terms of Forest Management in Goettingen Forest, Low Saxony, Germany". 22nd SGEM International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Proceedings 2022, Water Resources. Forest, Marine and Ocean Ecosystems, VOL 22, ISSUE 3.2. Vol. 22. pp. 397–404. doi:10.5593/sgem2022V/3.2/s14.46. ISBN 978-619-7603-54-5. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help) Kovalenko, I. M.; Klymenko, H. O.; Hozhenko, K. H. (30 July 2017). "Population analysis of Asarum europaeum in the Northeast of Ukraine". Biosystems Diversity. 25 (3): 210–215. Bibcode:2017BiDiv..25..210K. doi:10.15421/011732.

Liu, Hanze; Wang, Changhong (10 January 2022). "The genus Asarum: A review on phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology, toxicology and pharmacokinetics". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 282 114642. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2021.114642. PMID 34537281. Reddy, K. S.; Reddy, V. B.; Yao, Z. P. (2020). "Asarone: A review of its phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 258 112836. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2020.112836. PMID 32344160. Saeedi, Mina; Vahedi-Mazdabadi, Yasaman; Rastegari, Arezoo; Soleimani, Mahdieh; Eftekhari, Mahdieh; Akbarzadeh, Tahmineh; Khanavi, Mahnaz (2 June 2020). "Evaluation of Asarum europaeum L. Rhizome for the Biological Activities Related to Alzheimer's Disease" (PDF). Research Journal of Pharmacognosy. 7 (3): 25–33. doi:10.22127/rjp.2020.223143.1565.

A. europaeum is quite shade-tolerant and is often employed as groundcover where little else will grow. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.