American ginseng [SEP] parent taxon
American ginseng
American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius, Panacis quinquefolis) is a herbaceous perennial plant in the ivy family, commonly used as Chinese or traditional medicine. It is native to eastern North America, though it is also cultivated in China. Since the 18th century, American ginseng ("P. quinquefolius") has been primarily exported to Asia, where it is highly valued for perceived superior quality and sweet taste.
Description.
The aromatic root of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) resembles a small parsnip that forks as
Taxon in disguise
In bacteriology, a taxon in disguise is a species, genus or higher unit of biological classification whose evolutionary history reveals has evolved from another unit of similar or lower rank, making the parent unit paraphyletic. This happens when rapid evolution makes a new species appear radically different from the ancestral group, so that it is not (initially) recognised as belonging to the parent phylogenetic group, leaving the latter an evolutionary grade.
While the term is from bacteriology, parallel examples are found throughout the tree of