The ginseng plant is decidious and drops its leaves late in the fall. During spring warm up a small rhizome or "neck" develops at the top of the root with a regeneration bud at the apex of the rhizome. New leaves will emerge from this regeneration bud.
As the plant ages and grows more leaves, typically having five leaflets, development continues until the fifth year. A mature plant is 12 to 24 inches tall and has 4 or more leaves, each consisting of 5 ovate leaflets. Leaflets are approximately 5 inches long and oval-shaped with serrated edges. In midsummer, the plant produces inconspicuous greenish-yellow clustered flowers. The mature fruit is a pea-sized crimson berry, generally containing 2 wrinkled seeds.
After five years of growth, the roots begin to attain a marketable size (3 to 8 inches long by 1/4 to 1 inches thick) and weight approximately 1 oz. In older plants, the root usually weighs more, are enhanced by form and much more valuable.
