"...eyes open for poachers." Sounds more like ginseng, perhaps? Wild native ginger (Asarum canadense) is a very nice little ground cover smelling like roses when divided, but I can't imagine it being attractive to poachers. Tropical ginger (Zingiber officinale" is not related to either, although Asarum has a similar spicy scent to that of Zingiber.

Tropical ginger is building quite a good market in the Northeast, grown in hoop houses and sold fresh and rosy pink.