American Ginseng has a strange and perilous history. It has one of the longest germination periods of any known species, and only two environments in the world have offered the ideal growing conditions for wild ginseng. The first was the forests of northern China, which disappeared over a millennium ago, and the sole remaining habitat is the Appalachian Mountain region of eastern North America, an area now threatened by logging and mining. Chinese legend says that ginseng is the child of lightning. The two elemental forces of water and fire fight in an eternal struggle, pouring down rain and snow and blasting the earth with lightning. If that lightning happens to strike a spring of water, the water disappears and in its place grows a ginseng plant—the fusion of yin and yang, water and fire, darkness and light, and the life force that moves the universe. American ginseng has become perhaps the most treasured of all herbal medicines, promising good health and longevity to those who consume it. Fortunes have been made and lost on the plant, which was America’s first export to China—before our nation even existed. The strange, twisted, man-shaped root today commands as much as two thousand dollars a pound in the hot, noisy ginseng markets of Hong Kong, and a wealthy collector might pay as much as $10,000 for a single, perfect specimen. Ginseng Dreams: The Secret World of America’s Most Valuable Plant unfolds ginseng’s past and its future through the stories of seven people whose lives have become inextricably bound to it: a huckster, a field researcher, a farmer, a ginseng “missionary,” a criminal investigator, a broker, and a cancer researcher. Each of these individuals brings a different perspective to the elusive root—and each is consumed by a different dream. Kristin Johannsen threads her way though remote woodlands in the Appalachians to observe the fragile plants slowly putting out leaves as part of a three-year growing cycle, during which time the ginseng is vulnerable to both poachers and growing suburban sprawl. She contrasts this with the huge commercial growing fields of Marathon County, Wisconsin, where among potato fields and paper mills, ninety percent of the country’s ginseng is produced. Johannsen explores the brisk black market trade in the panacean root and the efforts to save the wild species and its native habitat, and she ends her story in the laboratory, where researchers are investigating ginseng’s anti-cancer properties. An absorbing journey into the many worlds of this mysterious and potent plant, Ginseng Dreams tells the extraordinary story of America’s little-known natural treasure and the spell it casts on those who seek it.

An innovative, deeply researched history of Chinese medicine in America and the surprising interplay between Eastern and Western medical practice Chinese medicine has a long history in the United States, with written records dating back to the American colonial period. In this intricately crafted history, Tamara Venit Shelton chronicles the dynamic systems of knowledge, therapies, and materia medica crossing between China and the United States from the eighteenth century to the present. Chinese medicine, she argues, has played an important and often unacknowledged role in both facilitating and undermining the consolidation of medical authority among formally trained biomedical scientists in the United States. Practitioners of Chinese medicine, as racial embodiments of "irregular" medicine, became useful foils for Western physicians struggling to assert their superiority of practice. At the same time, Chinese doctors often embraced and successfully employed Orientalist stereotypes to sell their services to non-Chinese patients skeptical of modern biomedicine. What results is a story of racial constructions, immigration politics, cross-cultural medical history, and the lived experiences of Asian Americans in American history.

The story behind ginseng is as remarkable as the root itself. Prized for its legendary curative powers, ginseng launched the rise to power of China's last great dynasty; inspired battles between France and England; and sparked a boom in Minnesota comparable to the California Gold Rush. It has made and broken the fortunes of many and has inspired a subculture in rural America unrivaled by any herb in the plant kingdom. Today ginseng is at the very center of alternative medicine, believed to improve stamina, relieve stress, stimulate the immune system, enhance mental clarity, and restore well-being. It is now being studied by medical researchers for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson's disease. In Ginseng, the Divine Root, David Taylor tracks the path of this fascinating plant—from the forests east of the Mississippi to the bustling streets of Hong Kong and the remote corners of China. He becomes immersed in a world full of wheelers, dealers, diggers, and stealers, all with a common goal: to hunt down the elusive "Root of Life." Weaving together his intriguing adventures with ginseng's rich history, Taylor uncovers a story of international crime, ancient tradition, botany, herbal medicine, and the vagaries of human nature.

Evil takes root… As a child, Jessie Lockwood spent many hours helping her mother, Mariah, count the endangered ginseng plants hidden in the local woods of Deep Down, Kentucky. There she learned to appreciate the tiny Appalachian town—and ginseng’s healing powers. Now a PhD, she’s made her home in Lexington, even though that meant leaving Deep Down and her beloved mother—and Sheriff Drew Webb, the man she secretly loved. When Jessie is notified that her mother never returned from her last walk in the woods, she comes home to Deep Down—and to Drew. As Jessie and Drew race to find her mother, several suspects emerge: an agent for those who market the herb for its life-giving properties; Mariah’s disgruntled suitor; and an old Cherokee desperate to protect the sacred tribal herb. In the mist of legend and fear, only two things make sense to Jessie. At any cost, she is desperate to find her mother. And she can’t help falling desperately in love with Drew all over again. Originally published in 2009

From ages 10 to 20, Craig Thompson (the author of Blankets) and his little brother Phil, toiled in Wisconsin farms. Weeding and harvesting ginseng--an exotic medicinal herb that fetched huge profits in China--funded Craig's youthful obsession with comic books. Comics in turn, allowed him to escape his rural, working class trappings. Now, for the first time in his career, Thompson is working in serial form, in a bimonthly comic book series. Part memoir, part travelogue, part essay--all comic book--Ginseng Roots explores class divide, agriculture, holistic healing, the 300 year long trade relationship between China and North America, childhood labor, and the bond between two brothers. Set of six pamphlet comic books.

This volume is aimed at offering an insight into the present knowledge of the vast domain of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants with a focus on North America. In this era of global climate change the volume is meant to provide an important contribution to a better understanding of the diverse world of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant research, production and utilization.

Readers of this expansive, three-volume encyclopedia will gain scientific, sociological, and demographic insight into the complex relationship between plants and humans across history. Comprising three volumes and approximately half a million words, this work is likely the most comprehensive reference of its kind, providing detailed information not only about specific plants and food crops such as barley, corn, potato, rice, and wheat, but also interdisciplinary content that draws on the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The entries underscore the fascination that humans have long held for plants, identifies the myriad reasons why much of life on earth would be impossible without plants, and points out the intertwined relationship of plants and humans—and how delicate this balance can be. While the majority of the content is dedicated to the food plants that are essential to human existence, material on ornamentals, fiber crops, pharmacological plants, and carnivorous plants is also included.

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A guide which offers advice on healthy living including diet, nutrition, hygiene, health care, and fitness.