Wild Ginseng

What is Wild Ginseng?  Wild Ginseng, also known as Panax Quinquefolium, is ginseng that is not grown or cultivated by people.  Instead, it occurs naturally in the forests and is not maintained prior to harvesting.  For thousands of years, Asia has used ginseng as the primary herb to prevent and cure most illnesses and afflictions.  Ginseng is considered to be the ultimate herb.  Ginseng is an herb that supports mental, physical and sexual health.  At first, ginseng was only available to those who found it growing in the wild.  Wild Ginseng is believed to be the ultimate species of ginseng.  Because of its demand, Wild Ginseng is a rare commodity.  In the United States, the state of Wisconsin imposed a law that controls the harvesting, sale and purchase of the plant.  The United States is permitted to sell Wild Ginseng to international buyers only if the states that grow it can show that by exporting their product they are not depleting the resources.

In order to sell their harvest of Wild Ginseng, landowners must obtain a license.  A license is not required for those who cultivate the plant on their own land but do not sell it.  The license is free to those digging on their privately owned land.  Those digging on another’s land must purchase a license.  The fee is determined by whether or not the person is a resident of the state or not. 

Wild Ginseng is harvested from September through November.  The digging and sales of Wild Ginseng during any other time frame is considered illegal.  The plant can only be harvested on privately owned land.  Any state owned land is not to be used for Wild Ginseng harvesting.  The same applies to Indian reservations.  Only members of the Indian tribes living on the land are able to harvest the Wild Ginseng found on their land.

Prior to harvesting Wild Ginseng it is important to take a visual inventory of how many plants are present.  Young plants are not allowed to be harvested as their seeds are necessary to produce future plants.  Mature plants with three to five leaves can be harvested.  Younger plants harvested prematurely do not produce an adequate amount of seeds to be marketable.  A marketable Wild Ginseng plant takes about six to ten years to produce marketable produce.

Ron Teeguarden is the founder of Dragon Herbs along with his wife, Yanlin.  Ron has been practicing and teaching the healing powers of Asian herbs for over thirty-five years.  Ron focuses on Asian tonic herbs such as Wild Ginseng.  He has written a few books on the holistic healing powers of Chinese herbs and promotes the sale of his tonic herbal remedies on his website.

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