Ginseng is often referred to as the King of herbs. It is a green seed-bearing plant in the Arallicae family and a member of the panax genus. If it isn't a panax, it is certainly NOT ginseng - just an inferior herb masquerading as such. Quality ginseng comes with a price tag. If you are offered something cheap, it probably is just that.

The ginseng root is a fleshy root with a characteristic earthy bitter-sweet flavor which varies in those qualities from growing area to growing area. Structurally, a ginseng root is comprised of a main tap root with additional side roots and fine hair roots. The outer color of the root (light tan to a fairly dark brown) normally indicates the growing method.

The ginsengs include:

Panax quinquefoilous - American Ginseng

Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer - Oriental Ginseng (Korean and Chinese)

Panax notoginseng - Sanchi ginseng, Tenchi ginseng

Panax japonicus - Japanese ginseng

Panax pseudoginseng - Himalayan ginseng

Panax trifolius - Dwarf ginseng, Groundnut

Panax elegantior - Pearl ginseng

Panax zingiberensis - Ginger ginseng

Panax bipinnatifidus - Double cut-leaved ginseng

Panax vietnamensis - Vietnamese ginseng

The ginsengs do NOT include Devil's Bush, eleuthrococcus senticosus, so-called "Siberian ginseng" .

The only two ginsengs commonly used are Panax ginseng and American ginseng.