American Ginseng

AMERICAN GINSENG

Many of our native plants had medicinal uses. Both the Native Americans and the European settlers had their own medicinal uses for them. Some of these plants are still being used as medicine today. One of them is the American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.), our most prized American herb.

American Ginseng is a member of the Order Apiales, the Family Araliaceae, the Subfamily Aralioideae, and the Tribe Aralieae.

The generic name, Panax, is from the Greek word, panakeia or panakos, which is “pancea”, “cure-all”, or “all remedy”, because it treated many ailments. Pan or pas is “all” and akos is “cure”. The specific epithet, quinquefolius, is Latin for “5-leaved”.

The common name, Ginseng, is from the Chinese word Jen-shem, Jin-chen, Jin-shem, Ren- shen, or Schin-seng, which is “man-like”, “man-root”, or “trouser-shaped” because the roots resemble a human body. Jen, jin, or ren is “man” and chen, seng, shem, or shen is “root”.

Previous scientific names for this plant have been Aralia quinquefolia A.Gray, Aralia quinquefolia [L.] Decaisne & Planchon, Aralia canadensis Tournefort, Panax americanum (Rafinesque) Rafinesque, Aureliana canadensis Lafitte, and Ginseng quinquefolium (L.) Wood.

At different times and places, other common names for this plant were Canadian Ginseng, Chang, Cheng, Dwarf Groundroot, Five Fingers, Garantogen, Garantogere, Garantoquen, Garentoquere, Garongtoging, Gensang, Ginshang, Grantogen, Green Gold, Jinshard, Man’s Health, Manroot, Matcetasa, Ninsin, Redberry, Sang, Seng, Shang, Tartar Root, and Wenane. Some of these common names are from the Chinese or from the Native Americans.

Ginseng probably goes back about 70 million years ago when the Northern Hemisphere had only 1 supercontinent, Laurasia. About 50 million years ago, Laurasia split into North America and Eurasia. The Ginseng species upon each continent probably evolved into separate species. The North American Ginseng became Panax quinquefolia L. and the Asian Ginseng became Panax ginseng Meyer (or Panax shinseng Esenbeck).

DESCRIPTION OF THE AMERICAN GINSENG

Perennial

Height: Its height is 6-24 inches.

Width: Its width is 1-2 feet.

Stem: Its stem is single, green, erect, smooth, hairless, and unbranched.

Leaves: Its leaves are palmately compound with 3-7 (usually 5) spreading leaflets and are arranged in whorls of 2-4. The leaves are about 5-14 inches long. Its petiole is 2-5 inches long. These leaves turn golden yellow in the fall.

Each leaflet is stalked; oblong, ovate, or obovate; about 2½-6 inches long; and about ¾-2½ inches wide. It has a narrow or rounded base, a long pointed tip, and irregularly and finely serrated margins. The upper 3 leaflets are larger with the middle leaf being the largest.

Flowers: Its flowers are arranged in inconspicuous, tightly rounded, ½-1 inch wide, terminal, umbelled clusters. Each cluster has about 6-20 flowers. These clusters are located upon a slender stalk above the junction of the leaves.

Each flower is radially symmetrical, about 1/16-1/8 inches wide, and is green-white to yellow-green. It has a corolla of 5 spreading, ovate-oblong petals; a tubular calyx with 5 tiny teeth; 5 stamens; and 1 pistil with 2-3 erect or spreading styles. All flowering parts are attached at the top of the ovary.

This flower rarely self-pollinates. Bees (Superfamily Apoidea) and Flies (Order Diptera) pollinate them. These flowers have a strong scent needed to attract these Insects (Class Insecta).

This plant flowers after 3 years. Its blooming period is 2 weeks. Flowering season is May to August.

Fruit: Its fruit is a fleshy, globoid or ovoid, renate berry. They are arranged in ¾ inch wide clusters. These berries are green when young but later become a crimson scarlet red. Each berry has 2-3 gray, rough-coated seeds. These seeds germinate after 1-2 years of dormancy. Woodland Birds (Class Aves) and small Rodents (Order Rodentia), such as Mice (Genus Mus) and Squirrels (Family Sciuridae), eat these berries.

Roots: Its roots are fleshy taproots. The root is thick, tuberous, spindle-shaped, tapering at both ends, about 2-8 inches long, and about ½-1 inches thick. These roots may become forked after 2 years. Its root bark is thick, pale yellow to brownish white, and has circles and wrinkles. The circles are leaf scars from previous years and can be used to age the root. These roots are fragrant and have a sweet taste. Moles (Family Talpidae) often eat these roots.

Habitat: Its habitat consists of cool, moist, rich deciduous woods. They favor soils from acid leaf mold. They prefer light to medium shade.

Range: Its range consists of southeastern Canada and the eastern U.S. as far west as the Great Plains. Some are also found in parts of the Pacific Northwest. They are not found along the south Atlantic or the Gulf Coasts. The roots do not grow well in hot climate. Ginsengs in both North America and Asia are found between the northern latitudes of 30 and 50 degrees.

Uses:

Ginseng has many medicinal uses. The Native Americans, the Asians, and the European settlers used it. It was used as an aphrodisiac, a sedative, a demulcent, a diaphoretic, an anti-emetic, and an analgesic. A root tea was made for treating dysentery, headaches, muscular cramps, rheumatism, convulsions, palsy, vertigo, dizziness, fevers, shortness of breath, tuberculosis, nervous disorders, bleeding, colds, cholera, colic, and tapeworms. The root was chewed for sore gums. The grounded root was used for treating asthma and stomach ailments. The milky juice from the root was rubbed for sores. A root poultice was used for earaches and for sore eyes. A root decoction was used for female troubles. Ginseng was later used for anemia, insomnia, alcohol detoxification, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels, diabetes, cancer, and strengthening immune systems.

Ginseng was listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (1842-1882). It was used by eclectic physicians until the 1930’s

Recent studies have shown that it may increase mental efficiency and concentration and improve physical performance. It also increases one’s adaptability to both high and low temperatures. It can also allow persons to better tolerate noises. When taken over a long period of time, it may increase adaptability to physical and mental stress. This is sometimes called adaptogen.

Ginseng contains chemicals that are useful as medicine. It contains the triterpenoid saponins ginsenoside, panaxosides, and chikusetsusapoinins. It also contains panaquilin for internal secretions, panaxin to stimulate the mid-brain and heart, panax to stimulate the heart and metabolism, panacen and sapoginin to stimulate the central nervous system, and ginsenin to lower blood sugar.

Ginseng can cause insomnia, irritability, dryness of the mucous membranes, and nervousness. Ginseng is not recommended for persons with high blood pressure or for expecting or nursing mothers. Although Ginseng may work on some medical issues, it is not as effective as it was previously believed.

Ginseng also has some edible uses. The leaves can be made into a sweet and bitter tea. The roots can be eaten raw or cooked. Ginseng should only be used as emergency food.

Ginseng roots should be harvested in the fall when the berries ripen and when the seeds are set. The seeds should be promptly replanted. After harvesting, the roots should be washed and thoroughly dried. Drying prevents molding.

History of Ginseng:

Ginseng was used as medicine and as an aphrodisiac in China and in other parts of eastern Asia for over 5,000 years. Only the Emperor and other persons of nobility could use them. One emperor offered $25,000 for the perfect root. Wars were even fought over Ginseng territories. Unfortunately, overharvesting of this plant and the cutting the forests for fuel made their plant very scarce in Asia.

The Native Americans used our native species as medicine. However, they may not have harvested it extensively until the arrival of the European settlers.

Ginseng became popular with the European settlers about 1716 when Jesuit priest Joseph-Francois Lafitau in Canada read about the Asian Ginseng shortage in China. Father Pierre Jarfoux (or Jarteux), a Jesuit missionary in China, had suggested that Canada, which had similar climate, latitude, and topography to China, might also have some Ginseng. Father Lafitau found some among the Iroquois in Canada and sent some samples of the American Ginseng to France and to China. It was learned that the 2 different species were very similar.

The Ginseng Rush had begun in Canada. Ginseng trade in Canada became as big as the fur trade. An exportation company was founded in Canada in 1720. By 1724, the English settlers were digging them in America. By 1748, Ginseng was sold for $1 per pound in American and for $5 per pound in China. By 1752, exports from Canada earned $5 per pound. Canada made about $100,000 in 1755 but only $6500 in 1759. Many of the exported roots were immature and were improperly dried.

A few American companies hired diggers to harvest the roots for exportation to China. Native Americans and early settlers dug these roots and then sold them to fur traders for exportation to the East.

American Ginseng that was exported to China was first sent to Europe where the middlemen made large profits. In 1773, the sloop Hingham sailed from Boston to China but stopped enroute to sell its Ginseng cargo to the British. In 1784, the Empress of China became the first American ship to successfully send Ginseng directly to China. The ship made 30% profits. John Jacob Astor, who later became wealthy in the fur trade, also sent a shipment of Ginseng to China and made $55,000 from this trip.

When the supply of Ginseng was nearly depleted in the East, the diggers crossed the Allegheny Mountains and headed west. American Ginseng was found in the Old Northwest Territory in 1787. Surveyor John Mathews of the Ohio Company of Associates reported Ginseng in the Muskingum River valley.

Frontiersmen, like Daniel Boone and David Crockett, dug Ginseng to supplement their other incomes. In 1787-88, Boone dug or purchased about 12-15 tons of Ginseng to take to Philadelphia for exportation. He planned to sail up the Ohio River to Pittsburgh upon a keelboat barge then haul them to Philadelphia upon pack horses. Unfortunately, his boat spilled over in the river and he lost about 2 tons of Ginseng. The rest of the Ginseng had to be re-dried and had lost much of its value. This spill caused a major delay in transporting the rest of his cargo. When he finally arrived in Philadelphia, the prices had also fallen and Boone lost money on this venture. Fortunately, he fared better the next year.

In 1858, a Ginseng rush began in Minnesota. Many people rushed to that state to dig up Ginseng. By 1859, about $10,000 had been harvested. However, the rush had soon ended. In 1865, Minnesota became the first state to pass a law to regulate harvesting. Digging was restricted from May1 to August 1.

For many years, Ginseng was a major U.S. export. In 1824, over 750,000 lbs. were exported to China. Until World War I, it was American’s top export. Ginseng became a good source of extra income during the Great Depression.

Other countries had uses for Ginseng. Russian cosmonauts took Ginseng along on their space trips as medicine for infections.

Cultivation:

Cultivation of Ginseng began around the 1880’s. Abraham Whismon first succeeded with this during the 1870’s. George Stanton of New York pioneered this industry and became the “Father of the Cultivated Ginseng Industry”. Ginseng is mainly cultivated in the Great Lakes states, especially in Michigan and in Wisconsin.

Cultivation has some disadvantages. It takes about 6-10 years for the roots to fully mature. Cultivated Ginseng is also susceptible to fungal diseases.

Over 95% of Ginseng exports today are of cultivated Ginseng. However, cultivated Ginseng brings in less money than the wild Ginseng.

Legends, Myths, and Folklore:

There are probably many legends, myths, and folklore, about the Ginseng. Most of these are from Asia.

The ancient Doctrine of Signatures states that any herbs resembling different parts of the human body can be used for treating ailments of that body part. Because the root may resemble an entire person, it must be used for almost any ailment.

The Cherokee Tribe believed that the Ginseng gatherer should pass by the first 3 plants without digging them. Before digging up the 4th plant, the gatherer says a small prayer of thanks. After digging, the gatherer places a bead in the hole as payment and covers it. The gatherer can then dig up more plants.

Other tribes had other uses for Ginseng. A few tribes used it in witchcraft. Other tribes used it to ward off ghosts and evil spirits.

Threats:

Because of Ginseng’s popularity, it is in danger of overharvesting. Both federal and state laws have been passed to restrict harvesting and to protect this plant. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversee many of these laws.

Habitat destruction is another threat. Much of the plant’s habitat has been lost to urbanization and to forest fragmentation. An overabundance of the White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) has consumed many of these plants.

REFERENCES

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF APPALACHIA

Edited by Rudy Abramson and Jean Haskell

NATURE-SPEAK

By Ted Andrews

FIELD GUIDE TO MEDICINAL WILD PLANTS

By Bradford Angier

THE HEALING POWER OF GINSENG

By Paul Bergner

NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION FIELD GUIDE TO WILDFLOWERS OF NORTH AMERICA