2026 – CHW

Pseudopanax are a reasonably well known genus but what of the other genus with ‘panax’ in their name?

The answer is quite complicated and not altogether straightforward.

The Swedish Botanist and so called father of Botany, Carl Linnaeus, writing in the 18th century gave this name to true ginsengs (i.e. Panax).

The word comes from the Greek ‘panakes’ meaning ‘all healing’ or ‘cure all’.

So, in botanical terms, Panax specifically refers to the genus of true ginsengs and its names literally means ‘all healing’.

Ginseng belongs to the species Panax including the Asian Panax ginseng, the Chinese Panax notoginseng and the American Panax quinquefolius. Panax have been widely cultivated for their medicinal roots for thousands of years.

Pseudo is the Greek for ‘false’ or ‘resembling’ the true ginseng genus.

Pseudopanax are a different genus that early botanists thought resembled Panax in some way (such as its leaves or overall appearance) even though it is not a true Panax.

The entire name means ‘a genus that resembles Panax but is not actually Panax’.

Other genus with Panax in their names can therefore also be said to have charachterisitics that ressemble Panax (ginseng) but are not true Panax either.

The common characteristics that plants with the name Panax in their full names have to the true Panax genus are in the leaf arrangement and in the form of the flowers and fruit. Or so it seemed to botanists naming new species of plants from different countries around the world.

At Caerhays we are (or were) now growing 4 other genus with the term ‘panax’ in their name:-

a) Merrilliopanax alpinus (BSWJ 13939) – we have three plants, the oldest of which was planted in 2020. We have seen two of these flower although the flowers are not much to write home about and I have added one picture here of the flower.