Witnessed by: TCM · Western
American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), of the Araliaceae family. Woodland perennial with five-fingered leaves and a pale forked root; native range: eastern North American hardwood forests. Globally recognized as xi yang shen (西洋参) in Chinese, and five-fingers in English. The part used is root. Pale root, sweet with a clean bitter finish, cooling rather than warming.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
AMERICAN GINSENG
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- American ginseng
- Scientific name
- Panax quinquefolius L.
- Family
- Araliaceae
Form
- Part used
- root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet, slightly bitter
- Western
- sweet, mucilaginous
Temperature
TCM: cool
Western: cooling
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses converge — the cooling reading that sets it apart from Asian ginseng
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Stomach · Heart · Kidney
- Western
- lungs · adrenals
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- tonifies qi AND yin, clears heat, generates fluids
- Western
- cooling adaptogen, demulcent tonic
Cautions
Contraindications: cold-damp conditions where a warming tonic is wanted
Toxicity: none notable
Sourcing status: cites-ii
Interactions
- Western
- anticoagulants: may reduce warfarin effect · antidiabetic agents: additive glucose lowering
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