KANSAS CITY - New regulations go into effect July 1st for ginseng sellers and dealers in Missouri. A permit will be required that costs $100. The Missouri Department of Conservation sent letters to registered dealers as a reminder.
"The 90s were kind of a heyday. We had close to 4,000 lbs a year would be harvested in Missouri," says Malissa Briggler is with the Conservation Department.
Then in 20-15, the reality TV Show "Appalachian Outlaws" followed some law breaking and dangerous ginseng hunters in West Virginia.
Most Missouri ginseng grows in the Ozarks in well drained moist soil.
"Which is kind of an odd thing, because usually as soil drains it dries out. So if you're in the sheltered areas where we find a lot in the Ozarks in the steep ravines and things you can get into some better ginseng habitat." Briggler tells KMOX.
Malissa Briggler
Wildlife Diversity Coordinator
That habitat is not common.
Only about 200 lbs a year is harvested now. There are two reasons why.
"Habitat destruction is a big one. We've logged our forests and as you cut trees down you expose that ground to sunlight, it dries out more and it just can't grow."
The other, is overharvesting, and that goes way back.
"Fur traders would come through and the settlement really hadn't really come to the Ozarks quite yet. Fur traders would come through and harvest ginseng like they would fur and really make a lot of money. There are some historical accounts of just loads and loads of ginseng coming out of the Ozarks and we don't have ginseng in Missouri like that anymore," Briggler says.
The root of a ginseng plant has a distinct look. "In many, many cultures they believe ginseng must be good for your body because the root is often times so branched out it looks like it has arms and legs and it looks like a man."
The Conservation Department has regulated removal of ginseng for decades. When you harvest a root, you've harvested the whole plant, so you are only allowed to harvest plants that are 5 years or older - that have produced berries - and you can tell the age of the plant by the 3 true leaves or prongs - on one stem.
"Virtually all of it goes over to China and Japan and is sold in their market."
You can sell ginseng in Missouri for $300 to $400 a pound. A pound is about a 5 gallon bucket full of roots.
