• No license is required to harvest or sell ginseng in Arkansas.
• A Ginseng Dealer License is required to buy wild or cultivated ginseng in Arkansas for sale across state lines.
• The harvest season for wild and artificially propagated ginseng in Arkansas is from September 1 to December 1. The state does not allow green ginseng roots to be possessed between April 1 and September 1, and all harvested ginseng must be sold between September 15 and March 31 of the next year.
• Arkansas state law requires that wild ginseng only be harvested when the fruit is red, and only from “well developed plants” with at least 3 prongs.
• Arkansas requires that wild ginseng collectors plant the seeds of harvested plants at the digging site.
• Ginseng may not be harvested on state land in Arkansas, nor in the Ouachita or Ozark National Forests.
• The Arkansas State Plant Board, serves as the state’s ginseng coordinator. This office can be reached at (501) 225-1598 or by addressing correspondence to:
Arkansas State Plant Board
PO Box 1089
Little Rock, AR 72203
Provided by the American Herbal Products Association, in cooperation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and United Plant Savers