Ginseng

(Panax quinquefolius)

 

Color Photograph: U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)

Identification: Flowers yellow-green, arranged in globular umbels arising from the leaf axils. Fruit a red berry. Plant stem low, topped with 3 long-stalked leaves. Leaves divided into 5 leaflets arranged in a whorl (palmate). Leaflets ovate with serrate outer margins. Roots with rough bulbs. Plant 8 to 16 inches in height.

Distribution: Most of eastern North America except for Florida and westward to the Great Plains states.

Habitat: Ginseng is a species of rich, wet woods.

Flowering period: July to August.

 

Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)

Similar Species:

Ginseng might be confused with Dwarf Ginseng. The flowers of Ginseng are yellow-green compared to the white flowers of Dwarf Ginseng. Dwarf Ginseng is smaller (4 to 8 inches in height). The leaf of Dwarf Ginseng is usually divided into 3 leaflets, although the basal leaflets may be further subdivided in some cases. The leaflets of Ginseng are stalked, but those of Dwarf Ginseng are not.

 Similar Species