| American ginseng is a highly esteemed medicinal plant indigenous to North American forest understories. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of understory light on the growth and ginsenoside concentration in American ginseng plants, while also considering the variations in the photosynthetic capacity and pigmentation of the leaves during the growth season and the development of the forest canopy. Our results showed that the direct and total light intensity and the duration of sunflecks greatly influenced the photosynthetic capacity and the leaf zeaxanthin concentration in the two-year-old American ginseng plants. On the other hand, the growth and the ginsenoside concentration were differentially influenced by the light conditions depending on the age of the plants and their developmental stages. We also noted that the ginseng plants adopted morphogenetic responses to the light quality changes during the development of the forest canopy. |
