Ginseng is a perennial herb of eastern Asia and eastern North America. It is a low plant with three to five leaves on top. Each leaf consists of five leaflets. Ginseng has a long, fleshy root whose shape somewhat resembles that of a human body. The plant’s name comes from Chinese words meaning likeness of a man.

The ginseng root is used as a medicine in a number of countries. However, its medical value has not been proven. Manufacturers may add ginseng to such prod. American ginseng has tiny flowers and berries. The Chinese use the long, fleshy roots of this plant for medicine.

Wild ginseng has almost disappeared, and the plant is grown chiefly in China, Korea, and the United States. Most American ginseng is exported to China.

Scientific classification. Ginseng is in the family Araliacea. The scientific name for the American species is Panax quinque-folius. The Asian species is P. ginseng.

GLADIOLUS is any of several species of showy flowering herbs of the iris family (Iridaceae). It has broad flat leaves that resemble the blades of swords. The long, straight stalk and lily-like blossoms make the gladiolus one of the most handsome flowers grown for garden and house decoration. Native to South Africa, Asia, and Europe, the species of wild gladiolus have been hybridized and selected by plant breeders in Europe and the United States so that hundreds of different varieties are now known. Most of these cultivated gladioli reach heights of from three to four feet. Their blossoms grow usually in a double row on one side of the stalk. They appear in white and shades of yellow, lavender, smoky gray, maroon, red purple, and in a range of red, rose, and pink hues.

Gladiolus are generally raised from bulbs, which should be planted about three to five inches apart and five inches deep in rows at least one foot apart, or in garden beds, as tulips are planted. Well-fertilized, sandy loam is most suitable. By making successive plantings of bulbs at intervals of two or three weeks, from late March to middle June, one may have flowers continuously from July to frost.

New “bulbs” (really corms) are produced each year above the original bulbs, and small bulblets” (cormels) grow around them. The bulbs should be gathered in the fall after the first hard frost and stored in a cool room to be replanted the following spring. The bulblets may be replanted close together in shallow rows, like peas. In from one to three years, they will develop to flowering size. Most new varieties are raised from seeds. Seedlings bloom two to three years after the seeds are sown.

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