Ginseng facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ginseng |
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| Panax quinquefolius | |
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Aralioideae
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Panax
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Ginseng refers to species within Panax, a genus of 11 species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, in the family Araliaceae. They grow 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.
Contents
Common classification
Asian ginseng (root)
Panax ginseng is available commercially as fresh, red, and white ginsengs; wild ginseng is used where available.
Red ginseng
Red ginseng has been peeled, heated through steaming at standard boiling temperatures of 100 °C (212 °F), and then dried or sun-dried. It is frequently marinated in an herbal brew which results in the root becoming extremely brittle.
Fresh ginseng
Fresh ginseng is the raw product. Its use is limited by availability.
White ginseng
White ginseng, native to America, is fresh ginseng which has been dried without being heated. It is peeled and dried to reduce the water content to 12% or less. White ginseng air-dried in the sun may contain less of the therapeutic constituents. It is thought by some that enzymes contained in the root break down these constituents in the process of drying. Drying in the sun bleaches the root to a yellowish-white color.
Wild ginseng
Wild ginseng grows naturally and is harvested from wherever it is found. It is relatively rare, and even increasingly endangered, due in large part to high demand for the product in recent years, which has led to the wild plants being sought out and harvested faster than new ones can grow (it requires years for a root to reach maturity). Wild ginseng can be either Asian or American, and can be processed to be red ginseng.
Woods-grown American ginseng programs in Vermont, Maine, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, West Virginia and Kentucky, and United Plant Savers have been encouraging the planting of ginseng both to restore natural habitats and to remove pressure from any remaining wild ginseng, and they offer both advice and sources of rootlets. Woods-grown plants have a value comparable to wild-grown ginseng of similar age.
Partially germinated ginseng seeds harvested the previous Fall can be planted from early Spring until late Fall, and will sprout the following Spring. If planted in a wild setting and left to their own devices, they will develop into mature plants which cannot be distinguished from native wild plants. Both Asian and American partially germinated ginseng seeds can be bought from May through December on various eBay sales. Some seed sales come with planting and growing instructions.
P. quinquefolius American ginseng (root)
According to traditional Chinese medicine, American ginseng promotes yin energy, cleans excess yang and calms the body. The reason it has been claimed that American ginseng promotes yin (shadow, cold, negative, female) while Asian ginseng promotes yang (sunshine, hot, positive, male) is that, according to traditional Chinese medicine, things living in cold places or northern side of mountains or southern side of rivers are strong in yang and vice versa, so the two are balanced. Chinese/Korean ginseng grows in Manchuria and Korea, the coldest area known to many Koreans in ancient times. Thus, ginseng from there is supposed to be very yang.
Originally, American ginseng was imported into China via subtropical Guangzhou, the seaport next to Hong Kong, so Chinese doctors believed American ginseng must be good for yang, because it came from a hot area. They did not know, however, that American ginseng can only grow in temperate regions. Nonetheless, the root is legitimately classified as more yin because it generates fluids.
Most North American ginseng is produced in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and British Columbia and the American state of Wisconsin. P. quinquefolius is now also grown in northern China.
The aromatic root resembles a small parsnip that forks as it matures. The plant grows 6″ to 18″ tall, usually bearing three leaves, each with three to five leaflets two to five inches long.
Images for kids
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A root of cultivated Korean ginseng (P. ginseng)
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Cultivated ginseng
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Wild Korean ginseng (P. ginseng)
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Wild American ginseng (P. quinquefolius)
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Cultivated Korean ginseng (P. ginseng)
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Cultivated American ginseng (P. quinquefolius)
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Fresh ginseng (P. ginseng)
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Insam-twigim (ginseng fritters)
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Samgye-tang (ginseng chicken soup)
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Insam-ju (ginseng liquor)
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Sansam-ju (wild ginseng liquor)
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