Because wild ginseng is endangered, please plant the berries from any patch you dig. If the ginseng you find isn't producing berries yet, it definitely isn't mature enough to be harvested.
In China, the poor use codonopsis tangshen as a substitute for ginseng. The more impatient and underpriveleged of us might want to do the same.
In the meantime, ginseng can remind us that coddled people like coddled plants may appear more prosperous, but are often as bland as over-fertilized herbs. It is those who have had to struggle for survival who take on the real flavor!
Note: Photos are by Stephen Tice. They and the black and white illustration are courtesy of the Southwestern School of Botanical Medicine at http://www.swsbm.com/HOMEPAGE/HomePage.h...
