Bizarre Plants

Magical, Monstrous, Mythical

de William A. Emboden

Wonder of the world, manroot, man-essence, thunderbolt root, seed-of-the-earth, holy herb...all are names which have been used to describe ... Ginsent. This demure herb of the woodlands of temperate Asia has held the esteem of the Chinese as the single most omnipotent medicinal herb for almost seven thousand years....In the first century, the ginseng legends became so well known that collecting became rampant. Wars between the Chinese and Tartars were generated over ginseng territory....and it became necessary to protect ginseng roots with armed guards.