It’s ginseng hunting season in Virginia, with some limits

BRISTOL, Va. (AP) — It’s open season on ginseng hunting in Virginia from now until the end of the year.
The Bristol Herald Courier reports that means you’re allowed to dig up the roots of a plant that could fetch as much as $700 per pound.
But because wild American ginseng is a threatened species in Virginia, a number of laws apply to harvesting it. Those regulations include replacing each plant with seeds from the one dug.
Ginseng collection is also prohibited on most public lands in Virginia.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says approximately 2,400 pounds of ginseng roots valued at $1 million were harvested in Virginia during the 2017 season. It takes between 250 and 300 roots to acquire one pound of wild ginseng.