Ginseng is one of the most well known and, at the same time, enigmatic plants on Earth. Its medicinal properties have been familiar for centuries, but are still to be elucidated completely. Whereas, back in the early twentieth century, the area of ginseng growth occupied approximately 500,000 square kilometers, today there is almost no ginseng left on the globe, except for a few districts in Primorye Territory, Russia. By the end of the century, the natural range of Panax ginseng had become strongly reduced, and is now represented only by two major populations. The first and largest occupies the southern half of Sikhote-Alin, and the second one includes the species from Nadezhdinsk and Khasan Districts in Primorye, Russia, and Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in China. The Blue Mountains (Spassk District, Primorye Territory, Russia) is sometimes regarded as a separate ginseng habitat. Again, despite its small size, the Blue Mountain ginseng population still exists to this day. Genetic studies indicate its relatively high polymorphism, making it a valuable part of the ginseng gene pool.

In nature, ginseng grows singly or in groups. We know of cases when such groups or "families" numbered up to 100 individual specimens of different ages. Ginseng prefers ripe and dense Korean pine, Korean pine-black fir broad-leaved and white beech forests, and relatively rich and well-drained soil. In Khasan District, Primorye, ginseng "families" of 5-8, and even 15-30 plants, formerly occurred in black fir broad-leaved forests of upper Kedrovaya River basin, and single specimens in broad-leaved forests.

Ginseng is characterized by rather high ecological plasticity. Birds carry ginseng seeds to sites where this plant is not usually grown. In fact, ginseng seeds were found in cliff crevices, on boulders covered with fine sheet of soil and moss, and in mountain river beds, when part of fine ginseng roots was submerged.

Ginseng represents a herbaceous perennial plant with one or several (up to six) shoots up to 80 cm (seldom 86 cm) tall and about 0.7 cm in diameter. On its top, the shoot carries a verticil consisting of several (2-6) palmaticomplex leaves on petioles up to 10 cm long. The leaves of an adult plant have five small leaflets inversely oval or inversely lanceolate in shape; the middle and largest leaf is 4-20 cm long and 2-8 cm wide, and the extreme leaves are much smaller. The leaflet edges are finely serrate, naked or with very rare hairs. They are situated on petioles up to 3.5 cm long. A flower stalk rising from the middle of the verticil is up to 25 cm long (in culture 30 cm and more) and normally has one terminal umbel. In mature plants with well-developed roots, it is often accompanied by several more (1-4) side umbels, often with bracts up to 0.8 cm long and 3 mm wide. The flowers are small, bisexual and greenish-white, and about 4 mm in diameter. The umbel has an average of sixteen flowers, but specimens with numerous (up to 40) flowers also occur; again, in plantations one can observe plants with over 100 flowers. The number of flowers increases with plant age. The fruits are bright-red, 1.5 x 0.9 x 0.7 cm in size, with yellow flesh, squeezed on top and from the sides, containing two light-yellow seeds. The underground plant section consists of a rhizome and the root proper. The rhizome in adult wild-growing plants is long, with a number of stem scars, corresponding approximately to the plant's age (number of years). In cultivated plants, the rhizome may be highly reduced; however, in some specimens it is retained and has up to 7-8 stem scars. The root is yellowish, fleshy, and cylindrical, and up to 3 cm and more in diameter, with numerous ramifications. It can contract due to absence of mechanical tissues. This leads to retraction of the wintering bud into the soil and its resultant protection against low winter temperatures.

Other biological characteristics of ginseng are the presence therein of seasonal suction roots (functioning only during vegetation and playing the role of supplier of nutritive substances) and its ability to submerge into lengthy dormancy resulted from damage of wintering bud. The period of dormancy may last from one to several dozen years.

In central Primorye, ginseng blossoms in June-July; the fruits ripen in August; and the shoots dry up in late September-early October. Blossoming lasts for about half a month, some plants blossoming about ten days, and one flower 2.5 days. The biology of ginseng pollination and other elements of the mating system are yet to be finalized. It is characterized by morphological and ecological specifics indicative not only in favor of self-pollination, but of possibility of cross-pollination by insects.

Ginseng is reproduced almost exclusively by seeds, which are carried by birds (the hazel grouse, the jay, the cedar bird, etc.) and by rodents. Seeds often fall next to the plant to lead to forming of "families" of up to several dozen specimens.

Whereas, wild-growing ginseng has come to be quite a rarity, the culture of this remedial plant is developing from year to year. It initially appeared in Korea, probably back in 100 B.C., to be then cultivated in China (2nd-4th centuries A.D.) and in Japan in the 1800s.

Russian settlers began cultivating ginseng ostensibly ever since they first settled in Primorye. Mikhail Yankovsky, one of its pioneer explorers, began to grow ginseng on an industrial scale. In 1910, he set up a plantation over 1 ha in area in Sidemi Peninsula, which, however, was abandoned during the Russian Civil War and shortly ceased to exist. Comprehensive study of ginseng morphology, ecology, and biochemistry began after the Far East Branch, USSR Academy of Sciences, was organized in 1932. A ginseng plantation was set up in Ussuri Nature Reserve to increase its area from year to year. Comprehensive studies of ginseng resulted in the forming of the Ginseng State Farm to initiate commercial cultivation of ginseng roots. The Farm has a unique ginseng museum, whose exhibits boast one of the largest wild-growing roots in the world (419 g) and the largest cultured root (700 g).

Today, ginseng production in Russia has noticeably dropped. In 1994, the Ginseng State Farm, the main national producer of ginseng roots in the Russian Far East, marketed 1.5 tons of dry roots. In this connection, a package of government-controlled measures is now being drafted for a competitive Russian ginseng industry to become reality. The package is designed to:

1. Improve ginseng reproduction know-how

2. Optimize cultivation know-how

3. Develop measures for controlling ginseng diseases

4. Mechanize cultivation

5. Perform selection for high productivity

6. Elaborate new technologies for root raw material processing.

Chapter 6 also describes how ginseng is used in traditional and official medicine. Among most recent ginseng investigations, it notes the tendency to study the biological impact of some ginsenosides and other (non-glycoside) groups of biologically active substances, such as polysaccharides, polyacetylenes, peptides, etc. Among those compounds, the reader's attention is attracted to maltole, possibly responsible for stimulating aging-prevention processes.

List of illustrations:

Fig. 6.1. Schematic picture of representatives of the genus Panax: 1. P. pseudoginseng; 2. P. vietnamensis; 3. P. ginseng; 4. P. quinquefolium; 5. P. japonicus; 6. P. trifolius; 7. P. bipinnatifidus.

Fig. 6.2. Ancient picture of ginseng.

Fig. 6.3. Conventional signs of ginseng seekers (Chinese "shu-hua" stands for taiga's language, Baikov, 1926): 1-9, notches on trees; 1, roads diverge to left and right; 2, two-road crossing; 3, road to ascent; 4, road to descent; 5, road to pass; 6, road to ravine; 7, road to mountain top; 8, dozens of steps to ginseng in notch direction; 9, number of Chinese ri till ginseng in notch direction; 10, no ginseng this year; 11, no ginseng for two years running; 12, 13, cut stalks in ginseng direction; 14, bandits on road (note number of sticks); 15, all O.K.; 16, 17, broken branches in direction of motion; 18, water nearby; 19, water far away; 20, dwelling nearby.

Fig. 6.4. Structure of subterranean portion of ginseng plant: 1, stem base; 2, dormant bud; 3, rhizome; 4, lean adventitious root; 5, main root; 6, thickened side root; 7, suction roots; 8, lean side root; 9, thickened adventitious root; 10, stem scar; 11, dormant bud.

Fig. 6.5. Contraction of root leads to its thickening and wrinkling and to changed root position in soil.

Fig. 6.6. Successive blossoming stages in ginseng: 1-3, opening of flower; 3, 4, growth of stamens and divergence anthers; 5, 6, growth of pistil and ripening of stigmas; 7, approach of open anthers to stigmas, and anther drop-off.

Fig. 6.7. Differentiation of embryos (1-2) and stages of subsurface germination of seed and development or seedling (3-6): 1, weakly-differentiated embryo of ripe seed; 2, differentiated embryo of germinating seed; 3, 4, initial germination stages; 5, 6, loop stage.

Fig. 6.8. Ginseng range by beginning of century (1) and in our time (2); 3, sites of frequent occurrence.

Fig. 6.9. General view of high-module cover for mechanized treatment of ginseng plantings (United States): I, before; II, after shade cloth installation.

Fig. 6.10. Individual reinforcement joints for high-module supports: 1, joint reinforcement; 2, single bolting; 3, double bolting; 4, guide bolt; 5, bracket; 6, building slip; 7, winch; 8, clip; 9, external post.