How to Harvest Wild American Ginseng

Ginseng roots are a popular ingredient in eastern medicine.

The average price for a pound of wild American ginseng is between $250 and $500, as of 2010. American ginseng is a plant that grows naturally in woodland forests, or can be planted and harvested. Wild American ginseng is more valuable than cultivated ginseng due to the knotty texture that the root develops in soil that has not been cultivated.

Instructions

1. Check local regulations concerning harvesting ginseng. Ginseng is an endangered plant in many areas of the country. Most states closely regulate the harvest of ginseng. Harvesting the plant may require a permit. Most ginseng plants are only harvested during certain seasons and most permit holders are limited in the amount and age of ginseng they can remove. Harvesting ginseng outside of state regulations is considered poaching. If you are caught, you will face stiff fines.

2. Travel to woody, mountainous forestland for wild ginseng. The wooded forests of the Appalachian Mountains are a popular spot for wild ginseng hunters to search.

3. Search the north or eastern face of hillsides for ginseng. The plant prefers early morning light and late evening shade.

4. Locate plants that prefer the same environment as ginseng plants. Ginseng grows well in the same environment as ferns, jack-in-the-pulpit, stinging nettles and black cohosh. Ginseng may be growing near any of these plants.

5. Walk around the bottom of a hillside to look for ginseng. Plants that grow at the top of a slope will often create seeds that roll down the hill to the bottom and create new plants.

6. Scan the hillside in a zigzag pattern. Pay attention to any place that ginseng seed may collect, including depressions in the hillside, along fallen logs and at the bottom of hills.

7. Search for a ginseng plant’s red berries. Most ginseng seasons are in fall and early winter. During this time the plant will produce bright red berries that stand out in stark contrast to fallen leaves and underbrush. Ginseng also produces a compound leaf with five oval leaflets arranged like an open hand over a central prong. Only harvest mature ginseng that produces two or more prongs.

References

• The New York Times: In Appalachia, Stalking the Wild Ginseng Gets Tougher
• Mount Vernon News: Searching for Ginseng Poachers
• Grow Ginseng: The Joys of Ginseng Hunting

Resources

• Ohio State University Extension: Growing American Ginseng in Ohio: Harvesting, Washing, and Drying