American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)
Description: Perennial herb in the ivy family. It has at least three leaves, each divided into five toothed leaflets. White flowers bloom in June and July; red berries appear in late summer and fall.
Roots: Prized in Asian countries, primarily China, for alleged medicinal qualities. Takes many years for the plant to produce suitable root for grinding up into a medicinal form. Collecting the roots kills the plant.
Export: Most wild ginseng roots harvested in the U.S. are exported to China. Roots can be exported legally only if they came from plants 5 years of age or older and were legally harvested during designated state harvest season. Of 19 states (including Georgia) approved by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 18 require wild ginseng plants harvested have three leaves to ensure that plants are at least 5 years old. Illinois requires wild ginseng plants to have four leaves and be 10 years old.
Numbers: 346 pounds dry weight of ginseng was harvested from 14 North Georgia counties in 2013. Ten-year harvest average: 278 pounds dry weight. Last year's harvest decreased by 4.2 percent from the previous year, which was 361 pounds dry weight.
Rules: Ginseng collecting is prohibited on state-owned land; collecting in the Chattahoochee National Forest is by permit only. No license is required for digging ginseng on private land, but written permission must be granted by the landowner. Georgia requires harvested ginseng to have at least three prongs and fruiting stalk present. Ripe berries of wild ginseng must be planted immediately after harvest at the same location at which the plant was harvested.
History: Native Americans and colonists used ginseng roots for teas and tonics. Daniel Boone augmented his income by harvesting and selling ginseng. Fur trappers sold it on the side. As early as 1824, 750,000 pounds of ginseng were shipped from the U.S. to China.
When we were in Beijing, China, a couple of years ago, we paid a visit to a traditional Chinese herbal medicine shop. The owner, who spoke English, asked where we were from. Georgia, in the Southern U.S., we replied.
“Ah, Georgia, good ginseng there,” he said as he pointed to a shelf holding a half dozen jars of gnarly American ginseng roots. “Maybe some of this is from Georgia.”
He said he grinds up the roots to make tonics, pills and other herbal remedies. Demand for ginseng potions is nearly insatiable in Asia, especially China, where wild ginseng is prized as a folk medicine, aphrodisiac and health tonic.
I mention this because the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has announced that the state’s wild ginseng harvesting season will open Monday — a change from previous years, when the season began Aug. 15. It will run through Dec. 31. Most of the harvest will go to China.
Georgia changed the date at the urging of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which says a uniform starting date in ginseng-harvesting states will reduce confusion and help stem illegal trade in the plant.
A perennial herb, ginseng grows wild in the shaded, hilly terrain of North Georgia and other eastern states. Roots of plants at least five years old are the targets of “sang hunters,” as ginseng gatherers are called. Though ginseng can be cultivated, Asian users consider wild American ginseng far more potent.
Dried wild ginseng root fetched an average $780 per pound last season in Georgia, the DNR said. In large part, its value makes wild ginseng subject to overharvesting and widespread poaching. Biologists fear that it could become a candidate for the endangered species list.
To avoid that, Georgia and other states now ban ginseng harvesting on state property. Harvesting in North Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest is by permit only, and only 40 permits will be issued this year. No license is required for harvesting on private land.
In the sky: The moon, in first quarter Tuesday, will "grow" into a full moon by next weekend, said David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer. Venus rises out of the east about an hour before sunrise. Mars is in the west at sunset and will appear near the moon Sunday night. Jupiter is low in the east just before dawn. Saturn is low in the west just after dark and sets in the west around 9 p.m. It will appear near the moon Saturday night.
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