A new rule will affect the way ginseng diggers hunt and dig for ginseng this fall.

Concerns over the decline in wild ginseng — a medicinal root that fetches very high prices — prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ban the export of a ginseng root less than 10 years old. This move will hopefully give ginseng a chance to reproduce, as it takes several years before a ginseng plant is mature enough to produce seeds.

It is still lawful to collect and sell 5- to 9-year-old wild ginseng as long as it stays within the state of North Carolina, but diggers may have a difficult time selling such roots, said Marjorie Boyer, ginseng coordinator with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Plant Industry Division.

Some ginseng is grown in a manner that makes the roots look similar to wild ginseng. Such ginseng may be exported as “wild” under the convention, but only if it is at least 5 years old and can be traced through records to the original producer. “Wild-simulated” ginseng comes from seeds planted in a natural setting and not further tended. “Woodsgrown” ginseng is planted in a natural setting and helped by weeding, fertilizing and such.

North Carolina ginseng dealers are required to keep records of every ginseng purchase, and to have ginseng certified by an agent with the Department of Agriculture before the ginseng can be shipped out of the state.

As a service to dealers, this year plant protection specialists with the department will record on the export certificates whether the ginseng is wild, wild-simulated, woodsgrown or cultivated, based on the dealer’s records.

North Carolina regulations distinguish “wild” and “cultivated” ginseng but make no provision for woodsgrown and wild-simulated ginseng. It will be the dealer’s responsibility to determine whether the ginseng meets the new export requirements.