TOPIC: Trying to post a picture.

Trying to post a picture. I don't know if this will work.

Second attempt.

Ha! I successfully posted a picture. This is a native New Hampshire ginseng plant. Very rare in my state.

Good morning Archon,
Nice looking ginseng plant. Thanks for sharing. It looks a little lonely and probably needs some brothers and sisters not too far from it. Looks like it would be a good place to plant some this Fall in the same vicinity. I hope you get a chance to.

Hugh

Archon,
Nice looking 3 prong. By the looks of the pic there does not seem to be a lot of other plants on the ground other than the ginseng plant and the fern. I see some moss on the log in the background too. I surmise that this woods you are in has a thick canopy in a mixed hardwood forest. I see about 5 different kind of leaves in the pic too.

Like Hugh said it might be a good place to plant some seed this fall. However, I bet it would take a long time to mature to a dig-able size root due to the canopy density. I would love to see that root if you dig it up this September. I bet it is somewhat small but will have a long root neck on it. Perhaps 30 years old or more. You can always replant it if you do not what to harvest the root.

Thanks for the pic,
Latt

Archon, Nice plant. You say ginseng is rare there, is it because of the growing conditions or has it been dug too hard?

Sorry it takes me forever to respond. Ginseng is rare in NH because suitable habitat is separated by large areas of unsuitable habitat. Also it looks like plants that don't get enough sunlight produce very few seeds.

What about the butternut blight disease ? From what I have seen ginseng loves to grow near butternut trees. Having most of the butternut trees die off has certainly not been good for ginseng.

There has not been over-harvesting in New Hampshire. It has simply always been rare here.

Here is a 4-prong plant I found. I put sticks around it to keep the deer away. It has about a dozen berries ripening. This plant had eight seedling ginseng growing next to it. If you look closely you can see some of them. It is a perfect plant, that leaf is only curled up because a spider decided to make a nest there.

Nice looking plants. I smile every time I see a picture of them, and I imagine myself walking up on it in the woods.