Herb. No. 128 · Araliaceae
Far-Eastern taiga understory — northeast China, Korea, and the Russian Far East.
Native · East Asia
Native Also grown
LegalCautionplant
Eleuthero
Eleutherococcus senticosus
The Siberian cousin of ginseng — a thorny adaptogen of cold woods, not the man-root on the other plate.
Eleuthero is a Far-Eastern Aralia, a thorny understory shrub whose root was studied as a Soviet adaptogen when Panax was scarce. Traditional Chinese use (cí wǔ jiā) is as a wind-damp and fatigue herb. It is not ginseng, though shops still say so. Farmed root is the ethical crop. Morning, not midnight — it can push sleep off.
Flavor
Woody, mildly sweet, a little pepper. Quieter than Panax.
Parts used
Root · Stem bark
Helpful
- Hardy where ginseng is fussy
- A real written record
Cautions
- Can raise blood pressure and disturb sleep
- The ‘Siberian ginseng’ name confuses two plants