For many people, last week’s puzzler is big business. It is American ginseng, (Panax quinquefolius), also know as mountain gold.
Ginseng grows in rich North American forests and is just about identical to it’s sister plant in Asia, Panax ginseng. There, ginseng has been used as a health tonic for thousands of years.
Ginseng has 1-4 palmately compound leaflets, each with 3-5 leaves. Ginseng with 3 leaflets are at least 5 years old. Ginseng with 4 leaflets are at least 10 years old. Not surprisingly, the older the plant, the more it’s worth.
In the United States ginseng can be legally harvested in 19 states. It is illegal to harvest ginseng on State and National lands though some US Forest Service National Forests issue harvesting permits for wild ginseng. In recent years many populations have declined– likely due to illegal harvesting and habitat destruction.
Illegal harvesting of ginseng is a class one misdemeanor and other charges often accompany that, such as larceny for stealing the plant, trespassing or going on protected land. Even so, people often take the risk.
The Cherokees speak of the plant as a sentient being … able to make itself invisible to those unworthy to gather it. — William Bartram, naturalist, Philadelphia, 1791
Have you seen American ginseng in a forest near you?