American Ginseng

Panax quinquefolius Origin: Eastern North America (via China) Improvement status: Wild Seeds per packet: ~10 BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED Life cycle: Perennial American ginseng is a highly-coveted medicinal plant that grows primarily on shady north-facing slopes in deciduous hardwood forests from Quebec and Maine south to Louisiana, and back north to South Dakota and Minnesota. It is most commonly found in Appalachia, though it's not very easy to find — and, indeed, generations of 'sang hunters have managed to make their living searching for and digging up its valuable roots.Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) is perhaps the most famous medicinal herb in the Traditional Chinese Medicine pharmacopoeia, with written accounts of its use going back thousands of years. But while Asian ginseng is considered a "warm" herb (stimulating, invigorating), American ginseng is more "cool" (calming, non-stimulating). Both are considered adaptogens, helping the body regulate various functions.