In this Sept. 18, 2012, photo wild ginseng root dries at Buckhorn Ginseng, in Richland Center, Wis. Police say more and more people are combing the woods from the upper Mississippi River to Appalachia ...

The recent indictment of a Lamont man on five counts of illegal ginseng trafficking highlights the temptations posed by a wild-growing root that fetches $700 a pound on international markets. “The ...

Laura Moss is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience writing about science, nature, culture, and the environment. Autumn's arrival ushers in crisp weather, colorful foliage and, in many ...

WAUSAU, Wis. — Wisconsin’s ginseng crop is commanding the highest prices in decades. Nearly a dozen buyers from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and both U.S. coasts are in central Wisconsin to bargain on ...

Strong demand from China for wild ginseng growing on shady hillsides throughout Appalachia and the Midwest has boosted prices for the medicinal herb as well as the number of people willing to break ...

But that ensures the plants won't reproduce and feeds a cycle of dwindling populations and rising prices.And poachers know how to get around the conservation regulations. They'll dig ginseng out of ...