Panax ginseng Seeds | Chinese Changbai Mountain White Root Slice
LATIN NAME: Panax ginseng
COMMON NAME: White Ginseng Root Slice, Changbai Mountain Ginseng
Plant Profile
White ginseng root slice is the dried root of Panax ginseng, peeled and cut into thin rounds, sold for decoction and for chewing. The root itself is pale, fleshy and forked, often shaped like a small figure, and it is lifted after five or six years of growth.
The plant is a low herbaceous perennial, 30-60 cm, with a whorl of five-fingered leaves and a small umbel of greenish flowers, followed by a cluster of red berries. It grows slowly, and a marketable root takes half a decade in a shaded bed.
Panax ginseng comes from the forests of north-eastern China and Korea, where it grows in deep leaf litter under a canopy. Wild root is now extremely rare and expensive, and almost all commercial material comes from cultivated plants grown under shade cloth.
Science & Biotechnology
Ginseng contains dammarane saponins known as ginsenosides, of which more than a hundred have been identified. They are studied for effects on fatigue, on immune function and on glucose metabolism, and the clinical evidence is mixed: some trials show benefit, others do not, and the quality of the preparations varies enormously.
Processing changes the chemistry. White ginseng is peeled and dried, while red ginseng is steamed before drying, which converts some ginsenosides into others and is the basis of the traditional distinction between the two. The slices sold as white ginseng are the unsteamed form.
Ginseng has a real interaction profile: it can affect blood clotting and blood sugar, and it interacts with warfarin and with some antidepressants. That is why it is not a casual supplement, and why anyone on medication should ask before using it.
Uses & Benefits
The root is used in Chinese and Korean medicine as a tonic, taken as a decoction, as a powder or as slices chewed slowly. It is also used in energy drinks and in cosmetics.
In the garden the plant is grown as a curiosity under deep shade, and it is a crop for growers in cool climates with patience. Commercially the root is a major traded herb, and the slice form is the most common retail presentation. It is not a culinary ingredient. In Korea the root also goes into chicken soup, a dish eaten in summer rather than in winter.
Growing from Seed
Sow the seed fresh and stratify warm for four months, then cold for four months, since it has a double dormancy. Sow 1 cm deep in a shaded frame at 15-18°C; germination may not occur until the second spring.
Plant out in deep shade under a canopy or shade cloth, in a loose, humus-rich soil with plenty of leaf mould. Space at 20 cm. Water regularly and never let the bed dry out, but keep the drainage sharp. The roots are lifted after five or six years, in autumn, and dried slowly at low temperature. Never plant ginseng on ground that has grown it before.
Our Take
A slow crop for a shaded corner, and one to treat as a medicine rather than as a health food.
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