1. Any of several plants of the genus Panax, especially P. pseudoginseng of eastern Asia or P. quinquefolius of North America, having small greenish flowers grouped in umbels, palmately compound leaves, and forked roots believed to have medicinal properties.
2. The roots of these plants.

[Chinese (Mandarin) rén shēn : rén, man + shēn, ginseng (perhaps from the forked shape of the root).]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.