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Neither Wild nor Cultivated: American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) Seller Surveys Provide Insights into in situ Planting and Husbandry1

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Abstract

Neither Wild nor Cultivated: American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) Seller Surveys Provide Insights into in situ Planting and Husbandry. American ginseng has been gathered commercially in eastern North America for nearly 300 years. A possible contemporary influence on wild supplies is the augmentation of wild ginseng populations by harvesters using commercially available stock from cultivation. We utilized a confidential, annual survey over eight years (2012–2019) in Pennsylvania, United States, to examine the extent to which forest planting of commercial germplasm may account for wild ginseng harvest amounts. Three in ten (28%) root sellers reported that some of the ginseng they sold as “wild” was produced using in situ production methods involving scattering seeds in the forest. One in four (26%) of planters reported using commercially available planting stock in these efforts. Moreover, there was geographic overlap between study participants and the top wild ginseng harvest counties, suggesting planting activities might contribute partially to higher harvest amounts. Respondents confided a hesitancy towards reporting ginseng planting activities on buyer paperwork, as is increasingly being requested, fearing price devaluation, theft, taxation, and disagreement over what constitutes “wild.” Our results suggest that an improved understanding of U.S. wild ginseng origins and trends, especially as influenced by in situ planting and forest farming, will require confidential reporting mechanisms to accommodate seller concerns surrounding disclosure.

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Acknowledgments

Our sincere thanks to all ginseng survey respondents who have participated in this effort over the years. In addition to completing a survey, many also shared valuable insights for the sake of improving conservation and farming of this culturally and economically important forest resource. Our thanks also to PA DCNR for continuing to collaborate on this effort, and to state ginseng program coordinators who responded to our queries. Our thanks to Cassie Stark for her assistance with Fig. 3. All instruments, consent forms, letters and research methods were approved by the Pennsylvania State University Office for Research Protections (IRB study 00007062). Research funding was provided by Wild Resources Conservation Program research grants 12456, 14512, 16558, and 18585, which are administered by the Pennsylvania DCNR.

The authors of this manuscript have no competing interests to declare. EPB conceived and initiated and acquired funding for this research and led data analysis, manuscript planning, and writing. SEN acquired funding, reviewed, and conducted data analyses, prepared figures, and contributed to manuscript planning and writing. CVP and GHZ assisted with data collection, coding, and preliminary analyses. These co-authors also reviewed final iterations of this manuscript and provided editorial and content suggestions. The survey data for results presented in this manuscript are available by request from the corresponding author.

Since 2012, we have behaved ethically and with integrity towards each other and with all participants and collaborators associated with this study. We reviewed and used the International Society of Ethnobiology (ISE) Code of Ethics as our baseline since 2013 and have sought and gained IRB approval in each survey year. All instruments, consent forms, letters, and research methods were approved by the Pennsylvania State University Office for Research Protections (IRB study 00007062) and clearly outline the objectives and any associated risks of participating in this research to participants. We have made every effort be available to survey respondents for voicing of questions and concerns, many of which are shared in the manuscript discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, the Pennsylvania State University, Petersburg, PA, USA

    Eric P. Burkhart & Cathryn V. Pugh

  2. Ecosystem Science and Management Department, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, PA, USA

    Eric P. Burkhart & Cathryn V. Pugh

  3. Department of Biology, the Pennsylvania State University, Monaca, PA, USA

    Sarah E. Nilson

  4. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, DC, 20250, USA

    Grady H. Zuiderveen

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  1. Eric P. Burkhart
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Burkhart, E.P., Nilson, S.E., Pugh, C.V. et al. Neither Wild nor Cultivated: American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) Seller Surveys Provide Insights into in situ Planting and Husbandry1. Econ Bot 75, 126–143 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-021-09521-8

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