Page 90 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - February 2023 Edition

90 Did You Know: American Ginseng
DEBUNKED: An Asteroid Is
About to Crash Into Earth.
This recurring rumor claims that a
threatening "doomsday" asteroid is about to
slam into our planet. An example from
2015 had an asteroid purported to hit Earth
in late September, when it would
supposedly wreak devastation from its
impact point near Puerto Rico. NASA
quickly dismissed the reports — which
turned out, as usual, to be false. But that's
not to say that asteroids will never hit our
planet. NASA and a network of monitoring
telescopes across the world are cataloging
all known asteroids wider than 459 feet
(140 meters) across in line with a 2005
congressional mandate. (Smaller asteroids,
if found, are also cataloged.) Of the space
rocks discovered so far, NASA has not
found a single asteroid that has a high
probability of hitting Earth in the
foreseeable future.
DEBUNKED: Aliens Landed in
Roswell, New Mexico.
On a ranch in Roswell, New Mexico, so the
story goes, an alien spacecraft crashed in
1947 (opens in new tab). While the
accounts of exactly what happen vary, the
legend claims that a disc or some sort of
spacecraft was found on a ranch, and that
the government quickly covered up the
evidence. While rumors of aliens
circulated, some people speculated that the
crash was just a plain old weather balloon
that might not have been recognized by the
local community. The U.S. military
acknowledged the "spacecraft" was actually
a weather balloon sent aloft as part of
Project Mogul, which involved flying
microphones on high-altitude balloons to
listen for sound waves generated by
possible Soviet Union nuclear tests.
DEBUNKED: Climate Change
Isn’t Real.
Earth is on an abnormal warming trend
(opens in new tab). Arctic ice is melting, the soil with a slightly acidic pH balance of
sea level is rising and temperatures are
going to extremes in many locations around
the world. Why is this happening? Anti-
climate-change conspirators (opens in new
tab) have many explanations: solar activity,
radiation, the Earth's (and sun's)
movements around the Milky Way, among
other theories. While there are many
components of climate change, the fact that
humans have contributed to it is
indisputable, according to NASA (opens in
new tab). Temperature graphs show that the
climate has not warmed this much, this
quickly in all of Earth's history (as seen in unimaginable. One pound of dried, wild
geological records), and that the increase
correlates with increased industrialization.
Surprising Things about
American Ginseng
American ginseng, scientifically known
as Panax quinquefolius, is an herbaceous
plant commonly used in traditional
medicine. The use and cultivation of
ginseng spans across centuries and is still
prominent in North America and Asia
today.
It’s a plant that even I—as an
anthropology student with a focus on
ethnobotany—didn’t know much about
when Smithsonian Folklife curator Betty
Belanus recruited me for this research
project. In an email, she explained, “This
plant, which I have come to find
endlessly fascinating in its history,
folklore, and connections to
conservation, international trade, and
other topics too numerous to mention,
could be a really interesting topic to build
a Folklife Festival program around.” I
thought to myself, “How endlessly
fascinating can a plant really be?”
It is indeed, endless.
Ginseng is a wondrous species, as
I have learned through the work of
twenty-four virtual interns participating
in our online American ginseng field
school. So, here are the most surprising
things I learned about American ginseng.
1. Growing ginseng is not for the casual
hobby gardener:
If you’ve ever considered growing
ginseng, you should know it takes more
than a green thumb and a smile.
American ginseng is native to the
deciduous forests of the United States,
primarily in the Appalachian and Ozark
regions, which means you’ll need a
similar environment in order to cultivate
the root. You’ll also need well-drained
around 5.0 to 6.5 to place the seeds in. If
you’re lucky, those seeds will germinate
in the next eighteen months!
2. Someone is selling ginseng on eBay
for $10,859:
Because of its popularity in China, the stories of these women have not been
there is a major market for American
ginseng. While cultivated ginseng runs
for about $50 a pound, the prices for
wild, older roots are almost
ginseng sold for up to $800 in 2018. An
ounce of ginseng powder had a value of
$150 that same year. On eBay, one person
has advertised their distinctly human-
shaped root for a whopping $3,800.
Another has listed less than three ounces
for $10,859!
3. Dry sells high, but fresh is best:
To ensure that roots wouldn’t rot
on their way to China, ginseng diggers
and sellers typically dried ginseng after
harvesting. This practice is continued
today, yet there is also a growing market
for fresh ginseng. Dealers like Caleb
Trivett from Tennessee would rather buy
fresh ginseng roots, because it helps to
ensure that they weren’t illegally
harvested out of season. At the North
Carolina Ginseng Association meeting in
March, Trivett explained that fresh roots
are easier to handle, whereas dry roots are
more prone to breaking, which
diminishes their value, and some people
are better at drying roots properly than
others. But, since almost ninety percent
of American ginseng is directly shipped
to China, dried roots will still have a
market into the foreseeable future.
4. Sengers go senging for seng:
Digging for wild ginseng is known
colloquially as “senging.” As a way to
make some extra cash in rural areas, it’s a
tradition that has been passed down from
generation to generation. Senging usually
requires a “seng hoe,” a tool that allows
them to dig up the plant without
damaging the precious root. It can also
double as a walking stick. Since seng
hoes are generally not sold in stores,
people turn to recycled materials to create
their own. Folklorist Mary Hufford
reports that items such as old mine picks,
fire pokers, and automobile springs have
all been reused as seng hoes.
5. The girls can do it too, y’all
The stories and associations of
American ginseng have predominantly
consisted of white men, but female
diggers have always existed, as girls were
taught to seng alongside their brothers. In
fact, female diggers are just as passionate
about ginseng. “If you can’t go
ginsenging, it totally drives you crazy,”
Carla Pettry confessed. Unfortunately,
as widely documented as those of their
male counterparts. Researchers have
begun to record the stories of female
sengers, in hopes that it may shed light on
a part of history and contemporary
folklife that is largely unreported.
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