• No license is required to harvest wild ginseng no private land in Minnesota.

• A Minnesota dealer’s license is required to buy wild ginseng from harvesters; sell wild ginseng to an unlicensed dealer or to a processor, broker, wholesaler, or retailer; or carry, ship or export wild ginseng out of the state.

• The harvest season for wild ginseng in Minnesota is September 1 to December 31.

• State law requires all harvested plants to have at least 3 prongs with 5 leaflets on each.

• Minnesota requires that seeds of collected wild ginseng plants be planted in the area where the plants were dug immediately after harvest. The law specifies that seeds “must be planted by removing surface litter, planting each seed at a depth of one-half inch in the underlying soil, and replacing the surface litter over the planting site.”

• Ginseng may not be harvested in any Minnesota State Park or other area under the administration of the state’s Division of Parks and Recreation. Harvest is allowed in state owned wildlife management areas with a proper permit from a state wildlife manager.

• The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, Section of Wildlife, serves as the state’s ginseng coordinator. This office can be reached at

(651) 259-5142 or:

500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155

• A permit is required to collect ginseng in Chippewa or Superior National Forests. These can be contacted at (218) 335-8600 or (218) 626-4300, respectively.