Seed from Midwest ginseng farms planted in eastern forests raises questions

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — To meet global demand for American ginseng, the medicinal plant traditionally collected in the forests of Appalachia and traded and used internationally, the plant now is commonly cultivated on forest farms in the U.S. Northeast. But, according to a team of researchers at Penn State and James Madison University, much of the seed for that agroforestry enterprise is coming from field-based, artificial-shade ginseng farms in Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada — and it may be influencing the genetics of naturally occurring ginseng.

To understand where forest farmers are obtaining their planting stock and better assess how human selection might affect ginseng, the team interviewed 34 ginseng growers and looked at how seeds and plants are sourced, shared and planted. The researchers found that large, commercial, artificial-shade farms in the Midwest generate extra ginseng seeds that are available for purchase online, and much of this seed is bought by smaller eastern forest growers who can’t find local or regional sources of ginseng seed. The team recently published their findings in Plants People Planet.

“This means ginseng farmed or planted in forests using commercial seed may well be shaping the genetics of ‘wild’ populations,” said study co-author Eric Burkhart, teaching professor in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

American ginseng is considered rare or threatened in many parts of the U.S. due to overharvesting, habitat loss and poaching. Listed under Appendix II of CITES — Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora — the international trade of ginseng is strictly regulated to ensure its survival. While wild harvest is permitted in 19 states with regulations, it is banned in others.

The root is highly valued, particularly in East Asian medicine for properties that help the body manage stress, boost energy and enhance cognitive function, and is widely sought, Burkhart said. High prices for American ginseng roots in recent years have led to intense harvest pressure on both private and public lands.

Given the collection pressure facing ginseng, Burkhart said there has been growing interest in cultivating American ginseng as a specialty agroforestry crop in much of the United States, including Pennsylvania. One question that continues to hamper those interested in growing ginseng as a forest crop is where to obtain planting stock, since it is illegal to remove seed from wild ginseng populations and there are few existing forest farmed sources.

The result is that most people who plant ginseng on their forestlands do so using seed or root transplants that are grown under artificial shade in Wisconsin, or in Ontario, Canada, where the plant is currently commercially farmed. In these places, seed is a byproduct of cultivation for root and is generally the most available and affordable choice on the internet.

“This study is the first to document planting stock sources, and the practices and approaches associated with selection and preservation of American ginseng in lineages in North America,” he said. “In doing so, we found that little attention is being paid by growers and planters to intentional selection for any plant traits, but that there is widespread movement of planting materials between different types of production systems including field-grown, forest-grown and wild systems.”

The researchers found that ginseng farmers generally — both in the forest and under artificial shade — are not intentionally selecting traits but instead making plant stock decisions based on convenience or availability, so any genetic changes are happenstance. Human behavior matters for genetic conservation, Burkhart pointed out, noting that people’s actions — buying, selling, planting — can affect the genetics of both wild and cultivated lineages through mixing and crossing.

Understanding the behavior of ginseng growers, he added, will play a role in the plant’s future, especially around efforts to develop planting stock sources for forest farmers while conserving remaining wild population genetics.

“Growers would benefit from having planting stock available that is native and well adapted to our region,” he said. “The first step in the process of providing this material is to understand human influence on the species, and desirable plant traits from a grower’s perspective. The results also highlight the importance of involving growers in future efforts involving planting stock conservation and seed banking for sustainable use.”

The first study author Rachel Palkovitz graduated with a doctoral degree in anthropology from Penn State in 2025 and is now an assistant professor of geography and integrated science and technology at James Madison University. Mary Shenk, Penn State professor of anthropology, of Asian studies and of demography, contributed to the research.

This study was funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to Burkhart and Penn State and an Anne S. Chatham Fellowship in Medicinal Botany from the Garden Club of America to Palkovitz.