Description
If you didn’t know Siberian Ginseng was a plant with a long history of use as a Chinese herbal medicinal plant, you would be forgiven for thinking it’s just a really lovely ornamental!
Eleutherococcus senticosus is a woody, thorny shrub developing into a lovely round, mounded plant of about 2m tall. The mid-green leaves contrast nicely with the separate male (purple) and female (yellow) flowers in late spring to early summer, and the oval fruit that follows is not dissimilar to a large blackberry. Its natural habitat is as an understory plant in the woodlands of China, Japan, Russia and East Asia. It’s tolerant of a range of soil types and pH, including low fertility soils – of which Australia has plenty, and it grows in sun or part-shade. Could be used effectively as an informal hedge or as part of a herbaceous border.
Health benefits
Siberian Ginseng comes from the Araliaceae family; the same as ‘true’ ginseng in the Panax genus. It’s thought to have similar health benefits although the active ingredients are different. Most commonly it’s the roots that are used, but the leaves are also thought to have health benefits and are used as a tea.
Siberian Ginseng is known as an adaptogen that can help normalise the body’s systems. It’s a restorative herb that proponents claim boosts the nervous system. It’s been used in China for 2000 years as a folk remedy for heart and lung ailments and to improve general health.
Other uses:
Treating depression.
Helping control stress and relieving fatigue.
Improving disease resistance by supporting the immune system.
Regulating blood pressure and blood sugar.
Supporting kidney, adrenal and thyroid functioning.
A folk remedy for heart ailments and bronchitis.