Japanese ginseng

Japanese ginseng

　　Japanese ginseng

　　A perennial herb, growing 50–80 cm or more in height. The rhizome lies horizontally, shaped like a bamboo shoot, fleshy and thick, white, with sunken stem scars between the nodes. The leaves are palmately compound, with 3–5 whorled at the top of the stem; the petiole is 8–11 cm long. There are usually 5 leaflets, with membranous blades, inversely ovate-elliptic to oblong-elliptic, measuring 5–18 cm in length and 2–6.5 cm in width. The leaf tips are gradually pointed, occasionally long acuminate, the bases wedge-shaped to nearly round. The margins have fine or double serrations. The upper surface of the leaf has no hairs or sparse bristly hairs, while the lower surface is hairless or sparsely covered with dense hairs.

　　The umbellate inflorescence is solitary at the top of the stem, bearing 50–80 or more flowers. The peduncle is 12–20 cm long, hairless or with sparse short soft hairs. The flowers are small, pale green, with pedicels about 10 mm long. The calyx is green, with 5 triangular-ovate teeth at the tip. There are 5 petals, oblong-ovate in shape, arranged in an imbricate fashion. There are 5 stamens, with filaments shorter than the petals. The ovary is inferior, with 2–5 chambers, and there are 2–5 styles that are united below the middle but separate above, curving outward when the fruit is ripe. The fruit is a berry-like drupe, spherical, red when mature, with a diameter of 5–7 mm. There are 2–5 seeds, white, triangular-oblong in shape, about 4.5 mm long. Flowering occurs from May to June, and fruiting from July to September.