Unlike many other states, Minnesota has never required diggers of wild ginseng to buy a license. "Rooters," as they are sometimes called, enjoy the freedom. Like trophy deer hunters and secretive ...

The digging season for wild ginseng begins Sept. 1, but before heading to the woods, diggers need to be aware of laws protecting this valued plant. Since wild American ginseng is a threatened species ...

As Appalachian ginseng turns from rural tradition to global commodity, the Forest Service is trying to keep foragers at bay. By Katie Myers/Grist Published Oct 6, 2024 12:00 PM EDT This story was ...

Book cover of Ginseng Roots: A Memoir (2025), written and illustrated by Craig Thompson (all images courtesy Pantheon Graphic Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House) That Midwestern soil is, ...

This provided photo shows a 93-year-old American ginseng root, according to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. Anson Tebbetts Vermont Agency of Agriculture A 93-year-old ginseng root found in the wild ...

Wild ginseng is disappearing from Southeast parks at an alarming rate. Tradition endures in the Appalachian Mountains, where collecting ginseng root is a custom that stretches back to Daniel Boone.

Description: Perennial herb in the ivy family. It has at least three leaves, each divided into five toothed leaflets. White flowers bloom in June and July; red berries appear in late summer and fall.

Laura Moss is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience writing about science, nature, culture, and the environment. Autumn's arrival ushers in crisp weather, colorful foliage and, in many ...

In the mountains of Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, a 77-year-old forager stumbled upon a jackpot: a cluster of 13 ginseng plants with long, thin roots. Their value? A whopping 70 million won ...

Emily Cataneo is a journalist and fiction writer whose work has been published in Slate, NPR, the Boston Globe, and Atlas Obscura, among other publications. This story originally featured on Undark.

It’s early Saturday as I set out to meet Madison Woods, ginseng expert. She has agreed to meet with me, but has one request: I must keep mum about the exact location of her home in the Ozarks, where ...