Ginseng
Ginseng
Pronounced "jin-seng," a plant of the genus Panax, family Aralia, indigenous to China, Korea, and North America. The Chinese and Korean species, Panax ginseng, is said to have curative properties, including the ability to prolong life.
The roots sometimes resemble the human form, rather like the mandragoras or mandrake, and a legend similar to that of the mandrake says that ginseng also screams when uprooted. Chinese tradition claims that ginseng absorbs a special earth vitality that is communicated to those who consume the plant (usually in the form of an infusion); hence in former times its use was restricted to emperors.
Although the plant's medicinal value is still disputed in Europe and the United States, it is now cultivated widely for sale in health food stores.
The American general William Westmoreland reportedly took ginseng tea at breakfast during the Vietnam War, and Russians gave it to cosmonauts to combat infectious disease.
Sources:
Harriman, Sarah. The Book of Ginseng. New York: Pyramid Books, 1975.
Melton, J. Gordon, Jerome Clark, and Aidan Kelly. New Age Encyclopedia. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990.