Jerry Davis Wild ginseng gathering season needs to be about more than putting a screwdriver in the soil to carefully extract a root. Farmers and other landowners should become knowledgeable about the perennial herb – many already are. They need to decide the plant’s importance to the land, and consider some conservation methods to keep a healthy, perpetuating population.
Wild ginseng -- Panax quinquefolium – is Wisconsin’s state herb. It has a valuable much-forked taproot that can be harvested during an autumn season. The harvesting is strictly regulated, requiring a harvester’s or digger’s license.
Harvesters can only take plants with at least three compound leaves, and a fruit stalk where berries are still present or were produced. Permission from a landowner is required. Harvesting on state property, state parks and wildlife areas is forbidden.
In 2023 there were 440 residents and 23 non-residents who purchased harvester licenses costing $15.75 for residents and $30.75 for non-residents.
Wild ginseng plants, this one a four-pronger, are easy to locate due to their red berries Don Martin at Martin’s in Monroe, Wisconsin, said he sells one or two harvester licenses each fall to Green County residents. Will Hsu at Hsu’s Ginseng Enterprises in Marathon County, Wisconsin, said he purchased wild dried root for about $800 per pound this past year. Green root is also purchased; fresh root dries to about 75 percent – so the price before drying is usually about 25 .