6 Tennessee Ginseng Rules That Can Turn a Fall Dig Into a Fine

You spot a wild ginseng plant in the Tennessee woods this fall, and you reach for your digging tool.

Hold on.

What you do in the next few minutes could decide whether you go home with roots or a fine.

Here are the Tennessee ginseng rules that can turn a fall dig into a fine.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Ginseng rules and penalties are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

1. Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 Season

TDEC lists the wild ginseng collection season as September 1 through December 31, inclusive.

Dec. 31 still counts.

This year, it falls on a Thursday.

Under Tennessee’s ginseng harvest law, digging wild ginseng for sale or export outside those dates is unlawful.

So is knowingly digging it out of season on land you don’t own.

Both are a Class A misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $250 and forfeiture of the ginseng.

West Virginia’s Division of Forestry lists a season that closes November 30, a month before Tennessee’s.

2. Replanting the Berries

Wild ginseng berries must be replanted after you dig, TDEC’s ginseng program page says.

Under the ginseng harvest law, if you dig for sale or export, you can’t carry the berries off the harvest spot.

Plant them there.

The harvest law’s penalty section covers this rule too, and it requires you to forfeit ginseng harvested, collected, removed or sold in violation of the law.

Missouri’s conservation department tells diggers to plant seeds within 100 feet of the parent plant.

3. Three Prongs and Red Berries

If you dig for sale or export, the harvest law bars wild ginseng plants with green berries or fewer than three prongs.

TDEC frames it the other way around: Plants must have three or more prongs and mature red berries.

In West Virginia, the Division of Forestry says plants must be at least five years old with at least three prongs.

If you dig an immature plant for sale or export, the same penalty section applies, including the $250 fine cap.

Look at the berries first.

4. Landowner Permission

The harvest law makes it unlawful for you to enter a landowner’s property without permission and dig, harvest, collect or remove wild or cultivated ginseng.

Ask before you dig.

Break that rule and the fine can run to $250.

TDEC’s ginseng program page says Tennessee doesn’t issue permits to dig or collect ginseng for personal use or sale.

In Missouri, the Department of Conservation sells an annual harvest permit that costs $20 for residents.

The harvest law’s definition of wild ginseng covers ginseng introduced or increased in abundance in its natural habitat by sowing seed.

The permission rule exempts government employees and contractors doing road or highway work while performing that work for the government.

5. National and State Parks

National Park Service rules, not Tennessee’s, bar digging plants in national parks, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

A 2011 National Park Service release on a Smokies ginseng case puts the maximum at up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

One poacher in that case got 75 days in jail for possessing 554 roots.

He owed $5,540 in restitution.

Wild ginseng in a Tennessee state park or state natural area is off-limits because park rules bar you from digging any plant without a permit.

Break that rule and you’ve committed a misdemeanor punishable under the general laws relating to misdemeanors.

6. Out-of-State Shipping

If you export ginseng out of state, TDEC’s rules count you as a ginseng dealer.

Dealers need a permit, which costs $250 a year and expires every August 31.

Permit first, sales second.

Each of your out-of-state sales must be inspected, and you must obtain an export certificate from a designated TDEC representative.

Skipping the export certificate requirement, or other dealer requirements in Tennessee’s ginseng dealer law, is a Class C misdemeanor.

General state sentencing law caps a Class C misdemeanor at 30 days in jail, a $50 fine, or both, unless another statute says otherwise.

The harvest rules above are an exception. Their penalty section caps the fine at $250.

TDEC’s dealer permit page says certifying officials work at Ginseng Certifying State Parks and appointments must be made two weeks in advance.

The commissioner can suspend, revoke or deny a dealer’s permit if the dealer violates the act.

What an Export Certificate Records

American ginseng roots fall under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

TDEC says its ginseng program exists to monitor the harvest level of wild ginseng.

Federal rules say any roots you export must travel with a state or tribal certificate.

Under Tennessee's dealer rules, the export certificate for your shipment identifies its weight, whether the ginseng is wild or cultivated, the year it was collected and the dealer's permit number.

That's a paper trail.

The same rule has dealers keep a copy of the certificate for at least three years.

TDEC's dealer permit page says the white copy of the American Ginseng Export Certificate is the one required for export out of the state and the United States.

Tennessee's ginseng dealer law requires each registered dealer to submit monthly purchase records and an annual report of purchases and sales.

The 2012 Change From August 15

Before 2012, you could dig wild ginseng roots in Tennessee starting August 15.

That's 17 days earlier.

TDEC said in 2012 that mid-August is too early for the berries to ripen fully.