5/3/2021
This white-flowered plant is dwarf ginseng. I found it growing underneath the Japanese andromeda in the back yard. As its name suggests, it is a small plant, only a few inches tall. Growing singly, it’s easily overlooked, and it’s possible that I stepped on a few individual plants before realizing they were there. But in a larger group, it draws a little more attention to itself.
This patch is growing in the wild area behind the Japanese andromeda that roughly marks the transition point between yard and woods.
This plant has “ginseng” in it’s common name, but it is not the ginseng that’s used in Chinese medicine. That plant is so valuable that people harvest it illegally, and if I had any I wouldn’t say where. Dwarf ginseng is from the same family, though, and the root is said to be edible.
Though the flowers are pretty, what most intrigued me was the leaf structure. The scientific name of dwarf ginseng is Panax trifolius, and the “trifolius” part describes its three compound leaves. Each of those leaves is divided into leaflets, the exact number of which may vary.
As dwarf ginseng flowers age, they turn pink.
5/14/2021
Dwarf ginseng is not a showy plant, but it is welcome on any part of my property on which it decides to grow. In the spot it currently occupies, it is subject to mowing. Like many of the flowers that manage survive in the yard, it’s small enough not to be completely cut down by the mower. Because it blooms early, it’s possible that its seeds will be developed enough to be spread, rather than destroyed, by the mower. It may well thrive in its new home, and I hope that it will.