TOPIC: I need a plant id, please

Hi,
I was hoping that someone here could help me identify this plant. I am not sure if it is ginseng. Thanks for your time.

Not sure what that is but it is not Ginseng.

Could be Virginia Creeper.

TNhunter

I think I might need to post a couple of more pictures.

yeah that looks like Virginia creeper to me I cus that plant all the time caause somtimes from a distance it can look alot like seng. Also the leaves I think very slightly on creeper making it look more like seng at times

Another pic, when in the ground it looks identical to the images that I have seen on the internet. Virginia creeper has tendrils that attach to whatever it climbs. and this does not. We are located in Massachusetts.

its definatly not seng. I was always told seng doesnt have bark. in your pic it looks like it has bark. still looks like some BIG ol creeper to me if its not im not sure what else it could be but definatly not seng

Now that I can see the top and leaf clusters better would definately say that is virginia creeper.

Notice how the 5 leaf bunches all of the leaves are basically the same size.

With Ginseng that is the part that stands out - what makes you see it when you scan a 30 ft area full of virginia creeper, and lots of other woodland plants and spot that one single 3 prong plant.

It is the leaf pattern that makes it stand out.

With Ginseng each leaf cluster has 5 per mature cluster. There are 3 (larger leaves) that always point away from the center (where the berry cluster is or will be) and the two (smaller leaves) point back towards the center.

The virginia creeper (and most other woodland plants) do not have that unique leaf cluster pattern.

That is what sets Ginseng apart and makes it easy to spot once you get that pattern in your head.

Then later in the fall (around first of September here) when the Ginseng berries turn red that is another thing that makes it stand out even more.

Then a bit later on when the nights start to get cool (perhaps a light frost or two) the ginseng leaves will start to yellow, sometimes just around the edge first, but then the entire leaves will yellow and I have seem them turn almost white near the end).

When the ginseng leaves are turning like that and they still have some of that bright red berry cluster left hanging on - well that is the best time for a \"new ginseng hunter\" to be out there trying to learn how to spot it.

Ginseng does grow mixed with virginia creeper around here - but viginia creeper may grow much higher on the hill than ginsgng does too.

Here is a image of a small 3 prong ginseng plant. It was a 2 prong last year but added a 3rd prong this spring when it came up. Notice the leaf pattern. The big leaves point away from the center, the small leaves point in towards the center. It really does stand out once you get it.



When I return from a days hunt I clean my ginseng and set it out to start drying, shower and usually rest some. Then the rest of the evening (and for several hours afterwards) I will actually start seeing that ginseng leaf pattern in image flash backs. It is kind of strange but it happens every time. Like later on when you blink your eyes or look up at a light on the cieling or turn your head to look at someting (BAM) I see a flash image of a ginseng plant and that leaf pattern.

I guess after focusing so hard on that leaf pattern and spotting it for a few hours, it sort of gets burned into your memory and flashes back for a few hours after you return home.

That is usually gone the next day.

Other ginseng hunters around here report the same thing happening to them.

Keep Looking !

TNhunter

Tnhunter--

I know exactly what you are talkin bout only i wish it would go away the next day. From the time I start spottin the first plants of the year while out scoutin until about the end of October I cant shake it. I must have it real bad!

Definitely virginia creeper,

another sang i.d. tip if you are stuck: If you look across the surface of the leaves you can see very fine little hairs