• No license is required to harvest wild ginseng on private land in Missouri, but the property owner’s permission must be obtained.

• Anyone who buys ginseng in the state of Missouri for resale must register annually with the Missouri Department of Conservation (and file quarterly and annual reports), unless they do not maintain a ginseng business address in the state and they are registered as a ginseng dealer in another state.

• The harvest season for wild ginseng in Missouri is September 1 to December 31 and the selling season is September 1 to March 15.

• Missouri state law requires all harvested plants to have at least 3 prongs, which (except for the mature fruits) must be kept with the plant until it is returned to the harvester’s home or place of business.

• Missouri requires that the seeds from each harvested wild ginseng plant be planted within 100 feet of the parent plant.

• Harvest of ginseng is prohibited on any land owned or administered by the Missouri Department of Conservation and on most other state-owned lands.

• The Missouri Department of Conservation serves as the state’s ginseng coordinator and can be reached at (573) 751-4115 or:

901 West Truman Blvd.

P.O. Box 180

Jefferson City, MO 65102

• It is illegal to collect ginseng in Mark Twain National Forest, which can be contacted at (573) 364-4621, or at:

401 Fairgrounds Road

Rolla, MO 65401

 

Provided by the American Herbal Products Association, in cooperation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and United Plant Savers