TOPIC: my latest Scout n a unusual berry pod

Man Don, that is one hell of a haul! Congrats!


Frank

Here's a nice one I found today that had five separate berry pods.

Wow seng that so cool

Hobler666shang wrote:

Wow seng that so cool

Wow doesn't even come close to describing that one! I have seen some strange berry pods on Ginseng plants such as a double (the second one growing from a stem coming off the first) berry pod, triples growing as a normal berry pod should (coming up from the forks in the prongs) but never one with 5 berry pods.

Sengfever... Did you harvest the root? I would bet that that very Ginseng plant has been more than a 4 prong at one time and going from a drought last year to an abundance of rain this year, that it's growing cycle got somewhat confused. Either that or the plant was on the verge of becoming a 5 or 6 prong the next time it comes up! It seems that when a Ginseng plant graduates from an old 4 prong to a very old 5 or 6 prong, it's genes or something in them gets confused and they grow kind of weird. After that and if they do not get set back by a drought, by a fire or by logging, they seem to straighten themselves up and become a full-fledged 5 or 6 prong the very next time they emerge.


Frank

Frank I did harvest the root. I'm a fool not to have taken a few good pictures. The plant was over 30 inches tall and was growing at the base of a huge boulder the size of a car. The root weighed almost two ounces and would have weighed more but it had been damaged many years ago but healed. If you can picture an apple with a huge bite out of it, that's what a section of the root looked like. Still an awesome find

hey guys what do you guys call a plant tha has single limbs coming out of the berry pod with one leaf on each limb

chicks dig it wrote:

hey guys what do you guys call a plant that has single limbs coming out of the berry pod with one leaf on each limb

Maybe oddball! Technically, I don't believe that there is a name for them. They are usually big 4 prongs that have single leaves coming off of stems at or below the berry pod. They really aren't 5 prongs, 6 prongs, 7 prongs or 8 prongs but I believe that they are on the verge of becoming a 5 or 6 prong! As I stated on another Thread, quite often,
crazy things happen to Ginseng plants when they are in the process of graduating from an old 4 prong to a very old 5 or 6 prong. Why this happens, I do not know but I believe that they get their' genes somewhat scrambled during this time. These plant's roots have probably suffered and survived many droughts, wild fires, maybe logging and rodent attacks, so these must take a toll on the root's genetic makeup as it often has to force repairs, growing new tops and new root fibers to survive. Maybe one day, scientists will be able to explain this but for now, we can only theorize!

By the way, welcome to the Wildgrown forums!


Frank

Sengfever wrote:

Frank I did harvest the root. I'm a fool not to have taken a few good pictures. The plant was over 30 inches tall and was growing at the base of a huge boulder the size of a car. The root weighed almost two ounces and would have weighed more but it had been damaged many years ago but healed. If you can picture an apple with a huge bite out of it, that's what a section of the root looked like. Still an awesome find

Yeah, I wish you had taken some good pictures as well! It would have been great to see that one.

I plan to take one of my' cameras with me when I finally get to harvest some Ginseng in the National Forest (yeah, I purchased my' Ginseng harvesting Permit this morning) on the 16th. However, I will be moving quickly to try to get my' alloted 25 roots in one day and get out, so I don't know if I can take the time to take pictures. It was a 90.6 mile round trip to purchase the permit and when I travel to the site I scouted, it is another 112 mile round trip, so I don't want to have to travel back there to finish getting the 25 roots.


Frank

Alright Frank
Im happy to hear u got ur permit. I hope ur 25 roots r huge n make it worth ur time good luck frank