TheharvestingofwildAmericanginseng(panaxquinquefolium),thegnarled,aromaticherbknownforitstherapeuticandhealingproperties,isdeeplyrootedinNorthAmerica,butnowherehasitplayedamoreimportantrolethaninthesouthernandcentralAppalachianMountains.Madepossiblebyatrans-PacifictradenetworkthatconnectedtheregiontoEastAsianmarkets,ginsengwasbutoneofseveralmedicinalAppalachianplantsthatenteredinternationalwebsofexchange.Astheproductionofpatentmedicinesandbotanicalpharmaceuticalproductsescalatedinthemid-tolate-nineteenthcentury,southernAppalachiaemergedastheUnitedStates’mostprolificsupplierofmanyspeciesofmedicinalplants.Theregionachievedthisdistinctionduetobothitsbiodiversityandthepersistenceofcertaincommonrightsthatguaranteedwidespreadaccesstotheforestedmountainsides,regardlessofwhoownedtheland.FollowingtheCivilWar,rootdiggingandherbgatheringbecameoneofthemostimportantwayslandlessandsmallholdingfamiliesearnedincomefromtheforestcommons.Thisboominfluencedclassrelations,genderroles,forestuse,andoutsideperceptionsofAppalachia,anditbeganawidespreadrenegotiationofcommonrightsthateventuallycurtailedaccesstosomeplantssuchasginseng.Basedonextensiveresearchintothebusinessrecordsofmountainentrepreneurs,countrystores,andpharmaceuticalcompanies,GinsengDiggers:AHistoryofRootandHerbGatheringinAppalachiaisthefirstbooktounearththeuniquerelationshipbetweentheAppalachianregionandtheglobaltradeinmedicinalplants.HistorianLukeMangetexpandsourunderstandingofthegatheringcommonsbyexploringhowandwhyAppalachiabecamethenation’spremierpurveyorofbotanicaldrugsinthelatenineteenthcenturyandhowthetradeinfluencedthewayhumanresidentsoftheregioninteractedwitheachotherandwiththeforestsaroundthem.
