Took a walk yesterday and came upon what I believe to be ginseng. The only evidence of it being ginseng is a pod of red berries. They looked identical to all the pictures I've seen but there were no leaves on the stalk, which was about 6"-8" tall. Is this a juvenile? Its been very dry here, no real rain to speak of for almost 2 months. Could it be a mature plant that has died off for the year? Any information appreciated. Im located in central WV for reference. Thanks

a pic would help. could also be jack in the pulpit. seems most of my ginseng drops the berries before the leaves fall off.

I'll have to get the pictures off my phone. When I squeezed open the berries, 2 white seeds came out. Does jack in the pulpit do this as well ?

did the berries each have their own little stem? or were they all clustered together real tight?

They come out of the top of the plant on one stem, then each berry has a little tiny stem that comes off of the main berry stem.

One big cluster

id say jack in the pulpit then. on ginseng like don said the berry pod has a stem then each berry has its own small stem.

without a pic and just going by your description..........I too say jack in the pulpit...or better known as indian turnips.

I am pretty sure that I ve seen the same thing. Jack in the pulpit has what I would consider a longer berry pod. Ginseng has a spherical shaped pod with less berries than the jack in the pulpit I've seen. Also ginseng that has dropped it's leaves, usually has them laying on the ground next to the stalk. I'm just going by what I've learned in the past month or so because I too have been fooled.

Jack in the pulpit berries are usually in a triangle typ shape and the berries are a dab bit more orange than crimson like seng berries. There is a plant in the woods that is called the green dragon. This plant has the same berry structure that jack has only the green dragon gets a lot bigger in height.Some get as much as 3 ft. tall. They have a leaf structure that comes out of the top of the plant, very much like the seng plant. The leaves are fairly good size and ovate in appearance. Jack leaves come from the side and more at the bottom of the plant and usually only have a couple big leaves on them.Our jack always have dead leaves this time of the year whereas the green dragon still has green leaves in a lot of places. Odd thing of it is, the roots both has the same properties to them, in as much if you take a bite out of either root, you will feel like you have a million needles sticking you in your mouth and throat. I think the green dragon is something by the Latin name of arium or something in that order. Sorry not the best when it comes to Latin names, that was always Linda's expertise. The old girl knew the name of every woods plant and every flower by it's Latin name. The Latin name is the most precise way of identifying plants and separating their Gene pool.

I'll try to get some pictures this weekend. Can't get them off my phone.