George Lindemann Showing Wild Ginseng Locations to Dr. Gao and Research Team

Blue Cohosh growing within a ginseng patch.

Large Four-Prong with 21 Leaflets

Ever since the kids and I found ginseng, we’ve been fascinated by it. Finding it, studying it, seeing shapes in the physical roots, and drinking it in tea. But we’re also worried about ginseng. For one thing, it gets stolen and too frequently the thieves don’t respect the “take” failing to plant the berries into…

This month National Geographic has a feature on ginseng emphasizing violence and crime. While theft is an important challenge, the plant faces many other challenges as well.  I have written a “top twenty” list explaining 20 of my favorite ginseng factoids. Please read my story on medium here.

Sam Inspects New Spring Growth from Transplanting

Dr. Iris Gao has moved from mainland China to Middle State Tennessee University in order to study Wild American ginseng. It just so happens that we have a lot of the root at Coal Creek farm in Eastern Tennessee. Dr. Gao visited recently with her colleague Dr. Elliot Altman (aka the hemp doctor) and Andrea Bishop, who…