PRICEY ROOT GINSENG, BELOVED IN ORIENT, IS HUNTED IN PA. BACKWOODS Fur trapper Ed Danko scours the backwoods of southwestern Pennsylvania in search of ginseng, a wild root that fetches $125 a pound and is valued as a cure-all in some parts of the world.But to get 1 pound, the 66-year-old Danko must dig up 350 plants and walk five to 10 miles over rugged, snake-infested terrain.”It isn’t a lazy man’s job. You’d better have a good set of legs. You’ve got to get back in the remote areas.

Deer could wipe out wild American ginseng, biologist says White-tailed deer have become so abundant in the eastern United States that their voracious appetites threaten the extinction of a beloved wild herb, American ginseng, researchers said Thursday. Deer munch the tops of the ginseng plants, causing the roots to die, the researchers say.The loss of ginseng, widely known for its supposed medicinal qualities, would wipe out the harvest and trade of the wild plant — a practice deeply rooted in the culture and economy of central and southern…

FORAGERS GRUB FOR GINSENG GOLD RISING PRICE OF HERB DRAWS WOODSMEN TO OHIO FORESTS A mysterious plant with mystical prowess has sparked a gold rush on the shadiest slopes of Ohio’s deepest woods.Foragers are grubbing for wild ginseng, a bashful little herb that hides in the unsettled forests of Appalachia. The roots are a cash crop worth nearly their weight in gold.Traders pay up to $400 a pound for dried wild ginseng that usually winds up in China – all cash, few questions asked.

KOREANS PUT FAITH IN GINSENG FABLED ROOT TAKES 17 YEARS TO MATURE For most of his 80 years, Lee Bong-hee has roamed dark regions of Korea’s tough hills, looking for shady, rocky patches suitable for planting ginseng.The root is fabled in Asia for its ability to promote health and vitality, but it is a tough crop to grow “