This is ginseng. What I like to call, Appalachian Gold. I started hunting for the herb two years ago. It was very hard to find at first, but after about a month or so I could spot it very easily. Ginseng, in my personal opinion, is the most beautiful plant in the forest.

'Seng starts off the season with bright green leaves and red berries in the center. Toward the end of the season, the leaves turn to a vibrant yellow and the berries have usually fallen off. A young plant has one or two prongs (branches) and an older plant has three or four prongs. The photo above is about mid-season. You can actually see the color change. Very beautiful!

It was my dad, who introduced me to the herb. He, being a master ginseng hunter, has taught me a lot about the herb and its medicinal properties. Have a headache? Simply add about a teaspoon of dry, ground ginseng to some green tea. After brewing is complete, use honey and a dash of cinnamon for sweetening, and you have a natural energy drink that can knock a headache clean out of your head.

I have yet to learn everything about the herb, but I will keep you posted. Feel free to let me know anything you may know about ginseng or any other plants and herbs. I am always wanting to learn new things about plants and herbs.
   

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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