American Ginseng & Kava Kava

American Ginseng is an adaptogen, having a sedative effect on the central nervous system.  This herb grows in the northeast U.S. and Canada.  In the United States, it is found from Michigan and Wisconsin, south to northern Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Heavy concentrations have been found in the Appalachian Mountains, although wild American Ginseng is considered endangered.  Ginseng was valued by the Native Americans long before White settlers began to popularize it.  Wild American Ginseng gained its popularity in the 1700s, when French Jesuit Priests returned to Paris with a sample they had found in southern Canada.  Sensing the potential profits from the plant, Jesuits sent Missionaries to Canada to find more, and for several years the Jesuits shipped tons of American Ginseng to China.  In 1784, George Washington reported the use of pack horses for carrying Ginseng.  Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett are said to have made large sums of money in Ginseng trade.  American Ginseng became a lucrative crop, and not unlike gold during The Gold Rush of California, wild Ginseng was almost wiped out along the Eastern seaboard due to over-harvesting.

Kava Kava is also known by the names Ava, Ava Pepper, Intoxicating Pepper, Kawa Awa, Kawa Kawa, Wati, Yogona, and Waka. This herb, a member of the pepper family, grows as a bush in the South Pacific. Explorer Captain James Cook, who gave this plant the name of "intoxicating pepper," first discovered Kava Kava.  Kava has been used for over three thousand years for its medicinal effects as a sedative, muscle relaxant, diuretic and as a remedy for nervousness and insomnia. The rhizome (root stock) is used medicinally. This botanical marvel has been used in parts of the Pacific at traditional social gatherings as a relaxant, and during cultural and religious ceremonies to achieve a "higher level of consciousness."  The roots can be made into a mildly narcotic beverage that is comparable to popular cocktails in our culture.  Kava is used ceremonially in the South Pacific to celebrate beginnings and endings, such as marriages, births and deaths.  It is often used to honor a guest, to enhance communication and even to help settle disputes and seal business agreements.