Posted on 10/17/2016 4:27:26 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The Far East’s Ginseng root is best known for its medicinal (and aphrodisiacal) qualities. The root, in its natural state, is wildly popular in Asia—but also in short supply. To sate this demand, a black market for wild ginseng has cropped in the most unlikely of places: Appalachia.
Currently, the global market for wild ginseng is around $2 billion. Long a staple in China and Korea, the root is finding new popularity in Singapore and Malaysia now, too. Most ginseng is grown in factory-like settings on a mass scale. But wild ginseng is considered more potent and, thus, more expensive. Cultivating the root is also more destructive, too.
Among the regions where ginseng is indigenous, wild ginseng has become increasingly scarce in East Asia. In an effort to prevent overharvesting, trade of the wild root has been banned in China and Russia. That leaves the only other part of the world where ginseng grows on its own: the eastern United States.
Much like their Asian counterparts, authorities in the United States and Canada have criminalized sale of the root. Despite this, there were 81,500 pounds of wild ginseng sold in 2014. With the markup for the root being around 15 times the cost of the mass-produced variety, the illegal ginseng sold for about $800 per pound when dried. Realizing the easy revenue and trying to double down on conservation efforts, states such as North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia have rushed to legalize ginseng harvesting periods. Given the huge markups and profit involved, however, illegal foraging of wild ginseng it still a major problem....
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearlife.com ...
I had some scumbag neighbors in the next holler over down in
White Bluff, Tn. that used to sneak over and steal my Ginseng until I invited my Class III dealer friend down for a little range time. We fired full auto all afternoon and I never had any trouble after that.
No, it doesn’t seem to like coastal areas.
I’ve known people go hunting ginseng or ‘sangin practically all my life, but I’ve never thought about land I own or that my family has owned. I wonder if it’s being harvested by somebody and we just never paid attention, figured they were out for a walk in the woods or hunters. I think I have some in the wooded area of my fenced back yard, matter of fact, I’m going to have to check, lol.
There was a TV series about ginseng hunting in Appalachia. I forget the name of the series or even what channel it was on.
Thanks.
Anybody who has watched Appalachia Outlaws for the last couple of years know all about this. Actually a very interesting show.
Anybody who has watched Appalachia Outlaws for the last couple of years know all about this. Actually a very interesting show.
Here’s a handy link on varying laws in different states, as well as some how-to info.
http://www.wildgrown.com/index.php/Wild-Ginseng-Harvesting-Practice.html
I bought some ginseng tea, and it was very good. Then I read the small print which warned against overconsumption because it can increase the heart rate. My heart is very slow (less than 60), but I don’t want it sped up. So I stopped drinking the ginseng tea.
I seriously do not understand the compulsion some people have to take substances “for health.” If they are sick and need some pharmaceutical intervention to try to get their body back to normal function, that is one thing. But to be healthy and seek to take something with pharmaceutical properties is lunatic. Pharmaceuticals, whether they are in their “natural” state or are purified, measured, and bound in known quantities in pills, disrupt the natural biochemistry of the body. Why not just be happy with the way the body naturally functions and eat a balanced diet and exercise to remain healthy?
If you’re back from the ocean quite a ways and have a few hills, might want to wander through any heavily shaded, wooded areas that you have just to check anyway. Looks a lot like Virginia Creeper or even Poison Oak. Clusters of five leaves, with red berries.
I live in Asheville. This has been around for a long time.
Cropped up??? Another example of the press not getting out of the cities and seeing the rest of the world. Ginsing has been big in Appalachia for a LONG time. Appalachia was a central point for the Asian ginseng trade since the 1700s. Here in the Boone area of North Carolina, it's all over the place. I have a secret stash of the stuff growing on a mountain near me right now. I'll harvest it when the time is right.
Interestingly that pretty much describes the area I live.
I was born in Walton County which has the highest point in Florida. It is less than 400 feet tho surprisingly hilly. Hilly as in rolling hills.
I got to thinking about it and probably no point in it tho. I grew up in a rural area which would probably be about the most likely place for it, yet I have never heard of gensing in this area.
Why are these people simpletons ?
Because they believe a ginseng root is an aphrodisiac, that’s why!
‘Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac’ - Henry Kissinger - As quoted in The New York Times (28 October 1973)”
These simpletons don’t get it - they may have a perpetual boner, and still never get a woman - chicks dig a manly man...
‘Only the very hard-up sell them “wet,” and take a big dollar hit for doing so...”
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Not exactly true.
The green (wet) market has been strong for many years and Asian buyers now prefer to buy green unwashed root.
I have bought & sold thousands of lbs. of wild American Ginseng (panax quinquefolium) roots over the years.
The two biggest sales I made for individual roots were one at $2800.00 (132 year old Catskill Mtn. wild) & another for $3700.00 (182 year old Catskill Mtn. wild root) both green & both sold to Koreans.
BTW, the article is filled with inaccuracies.
He taught me how to recognize it, dry it and even make tea with it.
Haven't had any since my early '20's, but as I remember, it wasn't anything special...other than the crazy prices some people would pay for it.
In my late teens, my uncle, my dad and I planted some in a special place, near Ball Ground, GA.
Now I'm really wondering how much is there and what it may be worth.
Road trip!
There is nothing new about gathering ginseng in the WVa woods.
There is nothing new about gathering ginseng in the WVa woods.
It’s been big in PA for a long time. I remember hearing that there are people who guard their “spots” as closely as WV pot farmers.
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