The ongoing extraction of American ginseng from deciduous forests throughout its range have resulted in modern populations that contain fewer individuals and individuals of smaller stature relative to historic populations, yet thousands of these remnant populations remain. American ginseng has been harvested continuously in North America following its initial discovery, punctuated by regional spurts of intense harvest in response to economic needs of rural residents. Profits made from the export of American ginseng to China facilitated western expansion in the United States, and the fortunes of some early Americans were built on the American ginseng trade. The discovery of the closely related medicinal herb, American ginseng, in Canada in the early 1700s ignited three centuries of trade between North America and China. Asian ginseng played an integral role in traditional Chinese medicine for millennia, but overexploitation of the plant, coupled with habitat loss, contributed to steep declines in natural populations throughout China.
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