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Common Name: Ginseng
Scientific Name: Panax quinquefolium
Family: Araliaceae
Polk County, North Carolina
April 30, 2002
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Because the dried root of this perennial herb was once valuable in Chinese folk medicine, the plants, usually 8 - 20 inches tall, have almost been exterminated. The 3 - 5 stalked leaflets and small red fruits, about 1/4 inch in diameter, are characteristic of this species. A native of the eastern U.S., these plants are now rare in the rich woods of our mountains and piedmont. May - June [Justice, William S. and Bell, C. Ritchie, Wild Flowers of North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1968]
A mostly tropical family (Araliaceae) of 55 genera and about 700 species, chiefly trees and shrubs. Some, like ivy, are grown in gardens. One of the most famous family members is Ginseng. . . . American Ginseng is a popular herbal remedy, although it is far from clear what its effects are. At one time this plant grew in rich woods from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, south to Indiana and in the mountains to Georgia, but it is extinct in many regions. It is a perennial, with a fleshy, slow-growing, spindle-shaped root, and an erect stem up to 2 feet tall, with a circle of three compound leaves at the top. At the center of this circle is the single umbel of small greenish flowers, appearing in mid summer and followed by red berries. [Forey, Pamela, American Nature Guides: Wild Flowers. Gallery Books, New York, 1990]
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Alphabetical Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Family Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Genus Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z