Wild ginseng was first picked in the mountainous regions of Northeastern China about 5,000 years ago. As it’s believed that the appearance of things in nature suggests the purpose they serve, traditional medicine practitioners viewed ginseng as a general tonic–a ‘cure-all’–since the ginseng root was often said to look like a little person. The very first official Chinese pharmacopeia, 神农本草经 (Shénnóng Běncǎo Jīng), had this to say:
Ginseng HistoryGinseng History
Ginseng History THE HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICAN GINSENG
DID YOU KNOW? NORTH AMERICAN GINSENG–A RESPECTED TRADITIONAL CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE THAT HELPS MAINTAIN PHYSICAL VITALITY – HOLDS SPECIAL HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE EVEN IN THE WESTERN WORLD.
Getting to the roots of North American ginseng
“Ginseng soothes emotions, safeguards the soul, drives out fear, expels evil influences, brightens the eye, opens up the heart, increases the spirit, and, if taken over a long period, prolongs life.”
The 1700s – 1850s
With the backing of such lofty endorsements, the popularity of ginseng exploded. Ginseng was so popular that most of the wild ginseng in China had been consumed and became extremely rare. Enter a Jesuit priest named Joseph-Francois Lafitau, who had relocated to a settlement near present-day Montreal. He happened to chance upon the description of ginseng–written by Father Pierre Jartoux stationed in China–in a Jesuit newsletter. In the newsletter, Father Jartoux postulated that ginseng could also be found in the latter because of the similarities in China and Canada’s environmental conditions.
Curious, Father Lafitau set out to determine if Father Jartoux was right. As it turns out, he was–leading to the discovery of North American ginseng. Soon, foraging for wild ginseng became massively popular in forests all through Quebec, Ontario, New England, and the Appalachian Mountains. Sadly, the over-harvesting led to the almost complete extinction of wild American ginseng in the 1850s.
1896: the beginnings of commercial ginseng cultivation in Ontario
In 1986, an Ontario farmer, Clarence Hellyer, had an idea while visiting his wife’s family in Michigan: “If ginseng grew wild in Norfolk County, couldn’t it also be farmed?” With his brother, Albert Hellyer, Clarence began to grow North American ginseng in Townsend Centre, Ontario.
The 1940s – present
Ontario is now home to 150+ ginseng farmers with an annual production of 5 million pounds. And it’s all because of Ontario’s ideal environment. The fertile, sandy soil in the Southern Ontario region provides the necessary drainage needed for ginseng to flourish. The climate in the province is also perfect for the cultivation of high-quality ginseng. All these factors, combined, are why Ontario ginseng is widely thought to be the most desirable of the market even compared to ginseng cultivated in British Columbia, Canada, and Wisconsin, United States–the other two North American ginseng producers in North America.
Although many ginseng farmers are situated in Ontario, the truth is that the herb is becoming increasingly scarce and rare. That’s because ginseng cannot be grown on the same land twice due to replant disease. The limited farming land available makes Ontario ginseng–known to boast unparalleled quality, potency, aroma, and even taste–even more sought-after and precious now.