This is topic Anyone fool with Ginseng??? in forum Member forum at The New Huntmastersbbs!.
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Posted by jasonpredhunter (Member # 3843) on June 13, 2011, 06:05 PM:
Just wondering if anyone here's got any experience with ginseng?? I've been hunting and digging ginseng here in the mountains of VA since I was probably 5 or 6 years old and could tag along with my dad without being a hinderance. I've dug A LOT of 'sang over the years but finally seen something in one of my patches today that I've never seen or heard of before. If you know ginseng, you know it has the standard 2, 3, 4 or 5 prongs with 5 leaves on each prong unless it's a young plant then it has 3 leaves. I checked one plant I transplanted as a young 3 prong about 16 years ago when I was 15, today. I dug this root back in the mountain and it was too small to sell so I put it over in a ridge where we have some patches to mature some. I had kind of forgotten about it, but decided to go check today on my lunch break to see how it was doing. I found it had 7 leaves on a couple of the prongs. It is a massive 4 prong, and I can only imagine the size of the root.
My question to you guys, "Have any of you ever found a stalk with 7 leaves on a prong???" Here are some pictures...Remember, this particular stalk is at least probably 20 years old. I've found some 5 prong's in the wild, and also one double decker in the past, but never a stalk with 7 leaves. I searched the internet but couldn't find any pics or topics about it???
Let me know if you ever heard of this???
Here's the pics....This is the whole plant:
Here is a closer up of the 7 leaf prong:
Posted by the bearhunter (Member # 3552) on June 13, 2011, 06:29 PM:
i've heard of "sang" but never known anyone that hunts it. maybe we don't have it here in northern MN. whats the use for it??
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on June 13, 2011, 07:55 PM:
Yeah, I have heard of it too, but never saw it before? Does the root look like ginger? I think we have it out here but I don't know anybody looking for it? I suppose it's worth money?
gh....lb
Posted by smithers (Member # 646) on June 13, 2011, 08:52 PM:
I only know it from drinking Arizona Green Ice Tea. It has ginsengion it in. Makes me feel loopy, if I drink too much, I know that. Makes my kidneys hurt too. Don't know if it's the ginseng or just green tea in general.
I've never seen it in the "wild".
[ June 13, 2011, 08:54 PM: Message edited by: smithers ]
Posted by Kokopelli (Member # 633) on June 13, 2011, 09:21 PM:
You might try contacting "Fur-Fish-Game" magazine. They run articles on ginseng a couple of times a year.
Posted by TA17Rem (Member # 794) on June 13, 2011, 09:35 PM:
Its suppose to be good for the Yang..Paul should try some. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on June 13, 2011, 09:56 PM:
Paul? Oh yeah! He is always sending me links for some Canadian Pharmacy that sells Viagra. He's on their Pro Staff, gets free samples, drinks Viagra milkshakes. If you look closely at his eyes, the white part actually has a light blue cast. I think that's the reason why he stutters?
gh....lb
Posted by JD (Member # 768) on June 13, 2011, 10:08 PM:
He should be OK as long as he doesn't stutter for more than 4 hours.
Yep Ginseng, thats the stuff that makes Chinese people horny.
[ June 13, 2011, 10:10 PM: Message edited by: JD ]
Posted by Nikonut (Member # 188) on June 14, 2011, 12:14 AM:
The stuff they grow in California is a lot taller and has narrower leaves! ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
All I can see is that poison ivy in the background. That stuff can make you miserable at this time of year!
Nikonut
Posted by Semp (Member # 3074) on June 14, 2011, 04:11 AM:
We used to hunt for it years ago. But so did most folk I knew. It got to where it was pretty rare to find any around here (west Kentucky). But then, I haven't been ginseng hunting for many years.
I can't recall that I ever saw a 7 leaf plant.
Posted by Jrbhunter (Member # 459) on June 14, 2011, 09:58 AM:
I used to dig a lot of yellow root and ginseng. Dad worked night shift in the slaughter house, trapped fur in the winter and dug roots in the summer. We didn't have much choice in the matter... he'd even keep us home from school to help at times.
I can't remember any 7 leafers but that's kinda like remembering the color of ribbons your prom date wore. Didn't pay much attention. I can't find the old poloroids of the biggest roots I ever dug but if they turn up I'll post them. Hate to describe them without proof.
At 13 years old I sold $5,000+ worth of roots in a summer and purchased my own fishing boat... haven't worked that hard for $5k since! I'll never forget those humid thickets, hauling 4 feedsacks full of yellow roots & tops at a time. Ginseng was easier money but it wasn't consistant enough.
You don't stumble into these often enough-
Posted by jasonpredhunter (Member # 3843) on June 14, 2011, 04:21 PM:
That's a great looking patch jrbhunter. I've got a couple like that in some "undisclosed" locations. LOL
I haven't had the time in years to hunt it, but I'm thinking about making the time about september and doing a little hunting. It's bringing in the $450-$500/lb. range I think so it's a pretty productive little hobby. That's a lot of digging to get $5,000 though, I can't imagine!
I might try to contact FFG, I'm sure somebody somewhere know's how rare the 7 leafers are. Thanks everyone for the replies, I'll keep looking.
Posted by Duckdog (Member # 3842) on June 14, 2011, 05:38 PM:
Just out of curiosity...what's so hard about the digging?
Are the roots really deep or something?
I mean, if we're just talking about digging up "potato" depth...woopedydoo!
I've dug holes bigger than that for a hell of alot less!
But,...then again, I don't know anything about Ginseng digging.
Posted by jasonpredhunter (Member # 3843) on June 15, 2011, 06:21 PM:
digging ain't the problem, it's the finding it! You do have to be careful when digging though not to tear up the root or cut it. Hurt's the value, especially on the bigger roots. When they are paying $500/lb they want the good stuff.
The "finding" it part is the hardest part though. On a good year, I used to dig about 2 lb's and that is hunting every Sunday for about a month. Not bad, but I knew where to look. I've talked to some people who have looked for days and days and never come across their first plant. It takes time to know what to look for.
Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on June 15, 2011, 06:40 PM:
Okay, but what do you harvest? The root, or the leaves? If you take the root, you don't have anything left to come back to?
gh....lb
Posted by jasonpredhunter (Member # 3843) on June 16, 2011, 03:46 PM:
Yeah, it's just the root. You usually let the plant mature until it's about 6-10 years of age, and most state's have laws that you can't dig it until it's a 3-prong. It's pretty regulated by the states. You have to have a license to buy it and also sell it across state lines in most places. The leaves aren't worth anything, it's just the root. It is mostly sold over in China. They believe it has some magical power and it's used mainly as an aphrodesiac. Most plants have a seed pod, with approximately 8-10 seeds on it. What I do, is usually just scatter the seeds wherever I dig a root and that gives it a chance to come back and have something a few years down the road. I think in some states you legally have to do that.
[ June 16, 2011, 03:51 PM: Message edited by: jasonpredhunter ]
Posted by Jrbhunter (Member # 459) on June 16, 2011, 05:49 PM:
Jason, the photo above is the result of many years of seed pulling and transplanting. There is no foriegn undergrowth there, just thousands and thousands of dollars worth of wild Ginseng. Ole' Tim Behle knows where it's at too, not sure that anyone else does.
Although I haven't dug any in recent years, I still take a walk through a few of my favorite rocky cliffs and "alter" the tops of the most obvious plants and fling the berries into less navigable areas. It doesn't take much, just a leaf or three, and you can throw off even the most skilled ginseng hunter. Scissors help knock out the recognizable shape without harming the plant's growth. If I'm out later in the summer when they're starting to turn, I break them off flush... you can't hide that glow from someone that knows what they're looking for.
PS: I can't find a mushroom or shed antler to save my ass... but I could find roots at night with a $5 flashlight. ???
[ June 16, 2011, 05:50 PM: Message edited by: Jrbhunter ]
Posted by jasonpredhunter (Member # 3843) on June 16, 2011, 06:35 PM:
LOL, that is one impressive patch and I can tell it took years of work. As far as the mushrooms go, I could look for Morels until my eyes hurt. I love finding them and love eating them even more. I'm like you though on breaking of the leaves, because you just never know who will come stumbling through and run across your prized patch. It would make me sick to go check it one day and just find a bunch of holes and broken off plants....
Posted by Krustyklimber (Member # 72) on June 20, 2011, 11:07 AM:
Jason,
I'd appreciate it if you could shoot me an e-mail, to discuss the particulars (licenses, etc.) of hunting coyotes/foxes, in Virginia (and, maybe, Maryland).
Thanks,
Krusty 
Posted by trapper2 (Member # 3651) on June 23, 2011, 01:54 PM:
does it grow in okla? i dont guessi have ever heard of anyone digging for it here. by the pics it looks like some of the same type country as here
Posted by Cayotaytalker (Member # 1954) on June 25, 2011, 04:35 PM:
I my self don't know. But we would find a plant from time to time and chew it just like we had some chew. We called it rabbit tobaco.Not sure what it was.Just that it grew out in the open. It would grow about three or four feet tall.
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