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Ground-Nut. Dwarf Ginseng

Aralia trifolia. Ginseng Family.

Stem.--Four to eight inches high. Leaves.--Three in a whorl; divided into from three to five leaflets. Flowers.--White; in an umbel. Fruit.--Yellowish; berry-like. Root.--A globular tuber.

The tiny white flowers of the dwarf ginseng are so closely clustered as to make "one feathery ball of bloom," to quote Mr. Hamilton Gibson. This little plant resembles its larger relative the true ginseng. It blossoms in our rich open woods early in spring, and hides its small round tuber so deep in the earth that it requires no little care to uproot it without breaking the slender stem. This tuber is edible and pungent tasting, giving the plant its name of ground-nut.