Studies by the World Wildlife Fund would have people believe ginseng is going to end up like dinosaurs and become extinct. But Mitchell McCullough of Ohio River Ginseng thinks ginseng - a valuable root that is used for a variety of purposes - is going to be like the cockroach and live forever.
Reports from the World Wildlife Fund, the largest environmental conservation organization in the world, indicate supplies of ginseng are decreasing throughout the country and have almost diminished to the point of extinction in some places.
Another study from the Washington, D.C.-based group reveals ginseng is on the verge of disappearing in seven of the 34 states where it grows naturally. Those states are Delaware, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.
Ginseng has also been placed on a "watch" list or labeled as a species of special concern in 10 states - Connecticut, Minnesota, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin and West Virginia. McCullough, who works with his father, Lawrence McCullough, and operates ginseng dealerships in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, disagrees.
He laughs at the idea of ginseng becoming extinct. "It's not disappearing," McCullough said. "It's definitely there. But when the price drops below $300 a pound, people won't go out and look for it. It's a renewable resource. It's always growing. It will never be extinct. It's not possible. "
"There's far more ginseng in the country than what is harvested," McCullough said. "The seeds are readily available, so it can be planted by man. Plus, the seeds that fall off the plant onto the ground are replenishing themselves. Ginseng is not in danger of becoming extinct."
In West Virginia, the harvest of wild ginseng decreased from 18,507 pounds in 1996 to 12,056 in 1997, while the harvest of cultivated ginseng fell from 160 pounds in 1996 to 101 pounds in 1997. Still, Bob Whipkey of the statte Divission of Forestry does not foresee a decrease in ginseng in the Mountain State in the near future. Like McCullough, he believes people are simply waiting for the price of ginseng to increase from its current value of about $225 before they harvest the money-making root.
"The figures that point to decreases may be misleading because people may be holding on to their harvests until prices get higher in hopes of making a larger profit," Whipkey said. "There is definitely ginseng around here." "It's all economics," he said. "When the price is up, the harvest is up. When the prices are down, people are less willing to harvest it. They would rather wait until the prices start going up." Whipkey doesn't think extinction will be a problem in the state because of its ideal habitat for ginseng .
"The habitat for ginseng in West Virginia has increased significantly because it's a woodland species," Whipkey explained, "and we have more woodlands in this state than we've had in the last 100 years or more. In the 1900s, only one-third of the state was forested, but now about 79 percent of the state is forested."
"The habitat for ginseng is a maturing forest," he continued," and we've had that for a few years. But now we're growing into a more mature type of forest. That will lead to our forests not being an ideal habitat for ginseng It will be another decade before we see that change. Right now, the ideal habitat is here." And so is the ginseng , which is considered a cure-all in Asia and can be used as an ingredient in cooking, brewed in tea or chewed raw among other uses. According to research by the World Wildlife Fund, West Virginia is the second-leading producer of wild ginseng in the United States below Kentucky and followed by Tennessee, Ohio and Virginia.
From 1978 through 1997, the state produced 394,176 pounds of ginseng , which is known for its flat clusters of small, white or greenish flowers and fragrant leaves. In the past 20 years, West Virginia harvested an average of 19,708 pounds of wild ginseng a year. During that period, the harvest of wild ginseng fluctuated. The leading producers of wild ginseng in West Virginia are the counties of McDowell, Wyoming, Logan, Mingo, Boone, Raleigh and Kanawha. McDowell produces an average of 1,494 pounds per year, while Wyoming and Logan bring in an average harvest of 1,472 and 1,454, respectively. Mingo averages 1,170 pounds per year, Boone 1,147, Raleigh 1,102 and Kanawha 1,001.
From 1978 through 1997, West Virginia harvested 4,285 pounds of cultivated ginseng for an average of 214 pounds per year. Like the production of wild ginseng , the amount of cultivated ginseng harvested each year varied during the 20-year-period, including 1978 through 1981 when there was no harvest. Preston County dominates West Virginia in production of cultivated ginseng with an average of 162.7 pounds per year. The second-largest harvester is Nicholas County with 4.7 pounds a year. McCullough said the amount of time needed to gather a pound of wild ginseng varies greatly.
"One person may walk for a few minutes and stumble upon a huge patch," he said, "while another may walk miles and miles and not find any ginseng at all. It varies greatly and depends on how trained your eyes are. A more experienced digger can usually find a pound in a good eight-hour day of looking." The season for digging wild or cultivated ginseng begins Aug.15 and ends Nov. 30, Whipkey said.
According to the state Division of Forestry, the root is collected by carefully digging about one foot in diameter around the stem, trying to keep as many tail roots intact as possible. Higher prices are paid for undamaged roots. The roots should be allowed to wilt and slowly air dry for several days.
Jacob Messer can be reached at 348-4834.
- BY : Jacob Messer
- SOURCE : Charleston Daily Mail1998.06.08
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