# I didnt know growing Ginseng out of season was illegal



## Road Guy (Sep 19, 2014)

http://www.wvva.com/story/26563681/2014/09/18/police-seize-190-pounds-of-illegally-harvested-ginseng

I am confused ??


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## Supe (Sep 19, 2014)

I love how ginseng is the frontrunner in that story, not the other drugs, guns, or mystery cash.


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## snickerd3 (Sep 19, 2014)

that sounds more a way to control the market instead of the quality of the ginseng.


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## Road Guy (Sep 19, 2014)

maybe our WV friends can chime in? its a native WV plant afterall, grown in WV.. this is like picking peaches out of season in GA?


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## mudpuppy (Sep 19, 2014)

I found this in the Illinois ginseng regulations. Apparently it's a federal mandate, and ginseng is endangered?



> This Act is required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in order that ginseng originating in Illinois can be legally exported from the United States to the principal ginseng markets in the Orient. Ginseng is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international treaty entered into by the United States. Enforcement of the treaty within the United States rests with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They require the individual states to regulate harvest and commerce in ginseng in a manner that will assure that the species does not become extinct. Cultivated ginseng is included because of its similarity to wild ginseng.


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## snickerd3 (Sep 19, 2014)

why does that not shock me that Il has their own regulations on ginseng


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## mudpuppy (Sep 19, 2014)

In reading what that says, it sounds like the feds require any state that grows ginseng to have regulations for it. Michigan also has a Ginseng Act.


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## Road Guy (Sep 19, 2014)

Well if It's on the endangered plant list then I can see the reason but you would think the journalism majors would have mentioned that in the article


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## Lumber Jim (Sep 19, 2014)

Doesn't this remind you of super trooper? (one of them should be holding a shot gun...)


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## mudpuppy (Sep 20, 2014)

^Not enough mustaches either.


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## knight1fox3 (Sep 20, 2014)

And where's Farva? At Shenanigans? LOL


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## frazil (Sep 20, 2014)

Just found out we have a witch hazel plant growing on our property. Any witch hazel markets we can tap into?


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## YMZ PE (Sep 21, 2014)

I hear the postpartum underground is balls mad for witch hazel.


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## engineergurl (Sep 21, 2014)

American Ginseng is like the Gopher Tortoise. While some states still have a thriving population, others have a concern or endangered status. This is probably going to correlate with the natural wetlands in the areas. That said after looking it up, it appears that two states have identified that it has been commercially exploited but west virginia is not a state that even lists it as a TES. See below for your specific states TES info.

This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state. Common names are from state and federal lists. Click on a place name to get a complete protected plant list for that location.

Connecticut

American ginseng
Special Concern​



Maine

American ginseng
Endangered​



Massachusetts

ginseng
Special Concern​



Michigan

ginseng
Threatened​



New Hampshire

ginseng
Threatened​



New York

ginseng
Exploitably Vulnerable​



North Carolina

ginseng
Special Concern​



Pennsylvania

ginseng
Vulnerable​



Rhode Island

American ginseng
Endangered​



Tennessee


Witch hazel used to be used for divining rods. If it flowers then it's at least 5 years old or so but I don't know much more about it than that.

okay turning ecological brain off.


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## csb (Sep 22, 2014)

YMZ PE said:


> I hear the postpartum underground is balls mad for witch hazel.




It's also good for acne and hemorrhoids.

There's a reality TV show about the ginseng harvest on History or Discovery. I've watched it and had to look up why ginseng was so fricking special.

Found it: http://www.history.com/shows/appalachian-outlaws/articles/ginseng-facts


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## Road Guy (Sep 22, 2014)

but the gopher tortoise itself isn't protected, its protected cause it digs large hole that king snakes live in that eat rattle snakes....

so I am working on my ginseng grow house in the basement next weekend if anyone wants in?


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## mudpuppy (Sep 22, 2014)

If that stuff is really worth $1000/lb then heck yeah I'm in!


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## engineergurl (Sep 22, 2014)

Road Guy said:


> but the gopher tortoise itself isn't protected, its protected cause it digs large hole that king snakes live in that eat rattle snakes....




it's a "vulnerable species" and endangered in one region according to the USFWS endangered in at least Alabama and Florida... usually there are no issues in Georgia because they haven't been listed there... but if development creates an incidental take, they try to catch it to attempt to capture it and relocate it to Alabama or Florida

http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=C044


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## Road Guy (Sep 22, 2014)

when I was stationed at Fort Stewart the "holes" were protected due to the snakes issue and you couldn't go near them.. when I got my butter bar and had to sign out the ranges, we had to take a week long "environmental class" the instructor joked, you can drive over the turtle with an M-1 just don't poop in its hole...


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## engineergurl (Sep 22, 2014)

Road Guy said:


> when I was stationed at Fort Stewart the "holes" were protected due to the snakes issue and you couldn't go near them.. when I got my butter bar and had to sign out the ranges, we had to take a week long "environmental class" the instructor joked, you can drive over the turtle with an M-1 just don't poop in its hole...




In Ga it's just a candidate species but has been stuck in limbo for what looks like 10-15+ years... the current status classification for it just means they review it every year to see how it's doing but it's not on the official list... but no one can petition for it to be added to the list because it's already listed as a candidate... in essence this creates a LOT of loopholes in the law... The TES act changes with almost every single administration too so the laws on how things are added or how long they stay on the list basically change every 4 to 8 years.


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## frazil (Sep 22, 2014)

I looked up pictures of ginseng today, and recognized the red seeds from a plant I've seen all around my house.







I was pretty excited to get home today and check out the plants. I thought I was in some fatty money!! But it turns out what i have is Jack-in-the-pulpit... @#%%^!


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