Ginseng
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Ginseng, also known as Ginnsuu in some regions of Asia, mainly China, is any one of eleven distinct species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the Panax genus in the family Araliaceae. The species most commonly referred to as ginseng is Panax ginseng. It grows in the Northern Hemisphere in eastern Asia (mostly northern China, Korea, and eastern Siberia), typically in cooler climates; Panax vietnamensis, discovered in Vietnam, is the southernmost ginseng found. This article focuses on the Series Panax ginsengs, which are the adaptogenic herbs, principally Panax ginseng and P. quinquefolius. Ginseng is characterized by the presence of ginsenosides.
Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) is not a true ginseng.
Read about Ginseng in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Ginseng (Panax quinquefolium, Linn. P. Ginseng, Meyer. Aralia quinquefolia, Decne. & Planch.) is to the Chinese more than quinine or any other drug is to Americans. As its name Panax implies, it is a panacea, being employed for all the ills that flesh is heir to. Though credited with stimulating, aromatic, alterative, carminative and tonic properties, the root is with us seldom used except as a demulcent. The reverence in which it is held, and the high price that it commands in China, led to extensive search for a substitute, which resulted in the discovery in 1716 of American ginseng, Panax quinquefolium, near Montreal, Canada. This root was favorably received by the Chinese, and soon became an important article of export. During the past fifty years the price of American ginseng has advanced nearly 700 per cent, but owing to the energetic hunt for the root, to the destruction of forests and to the gathering of plants at improper times, the wild supply has greatly decreased. With the advancing prices and the diminishing supply came experiments in ginseng cultivation, most of which failed through ignorance of the plant's peculiarities. The seed ripens in September. If dry it will not germinate until the second year, but if fresh and properly kept nearly all the seeds will germinate the first season. The soil must be a light, friable loam, free from stones, rich in humus and well drained; the plants must be well supplied with shade and moisture. Cultivated ginseng already commands a considerably higher price than the wild root, and, though no returns can be expected from a plantation under three or four years, the industry is profitable to the men that have given it careful attention. Ginseng beds can be located in orchards, gardens, or woods, where the roots may remain without danger of deterioration for several years after they first attain marketable size. The roots are so valuable that they are likely to be stolen, and beds should, therefore, be placed where they can be guarded. For further information on ginseng, send to Division of Publications, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., for Bulletin No. 16 of the Division of Botany, revised by M. G. Kains in 1898, or consult Kains' Ginseng, its culture, etc., Orange Judd Company 1899; second edition, 1902. For diseases, consult Cornell bulletins. CH
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Cultivation
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Species
Specieswp
Subgenus Panax
- Section Panax
- Series Notoginseng
- Series Panax
- Section Pseudoginseng
Subgenus Trifolius
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Red ginseng
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Ginseng. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Ginseng QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)
