Eleutherococcus senticosus
Origin: East Asia (via Belgium)
Improvement status: Cultivated
Seeds per packet: ~35
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
Also called taiga root, eleuthero, ciwujia, devil's shrub, shigoka, touch-me-not, wild pepper, or kan jang, this plant's many names are an indication of its importance to many peoples. It has a long history of medicinal use, especially in China, Japan, and Siberia (see photo of honey with Siberian ginseng, snapped in a Vladivostock market). While not in the same genus as ginseng, it is in the same plant family (Arialiaceae). The plant itself is a smallish woody shrub with thorny steps and five-lobed compound leaves. Its flowers are pretty white pom-poms, followed by dark purple berries.
The roots, leaves, and berries of Siberian ginseng are each loaded with different chemical constituents, leading to the different parts having different medicinal applications. The berries contain diverse polyphenols, including caffeic acid, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, and benzoic acid, along with significant amounts of calcium, magnesium and potassium. The leaves contain essential oils including alpha-bisabolol, beta-caryophyllene, germacrene D, beta-bisabolene, and alpha-humelene. And the roots contain significant lignans, sesamin, syringaresinol, phenylpropanes, coumarins, beta-sitosterol, daucosterol, and eleutherosides. According to the WHO, at this point only one use is backed up by clinical evidence ("as a prophylactic and restorative tonic for enhancement of mental and physical capacities in cases of weakness, exhaustion and tiredness, and during convalescence"), however the plant is decidedly under-studied compared to many other traditional Chinese herbs. Nevertheless, successfully combating weakness and exhaustion with a plant is itself a very useful trick! Consumption of the plant for medicinal purposes may have adverse interactions with other drugs (including digoxin and hexobarbital), as may people with certain conditions (high blood pressure, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, heart disease, mental illness, a compromised immune system, and pregnancy and lactation), so certainly consult with your doctor before considering its use.
Our Belgium-grown seed was imported by the good folks at Sheffield's Seeds in Locke, NY.
GROWING TIPS: Seeds should be soaked for 24 hours, then warm-moist stratified for 6 months, then cold-moist stratified for 30 days. Seed may begin sprouting in cold stratification. Sow 1/4" deep. Can handle full sun in cooler, northerly places, but requires shade and moist soil in hotter places. It mainly grows in shady or sun-dappled woods.
NOTE: Both photos of berries comes from user Kenraiz and is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. The close-up photos of fresh foliage are both from user Salicyna and is shared under the same license. The photo of a Russian medicinal formulation is from user Хабаровчанин and is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Others are in the public domain.
