Luke Manget, assistant professor of history at Dalton State College, comes from a family of root diggers and herb gatherers in eastern Kentucky. In this webinar we will talk his recently published book: Ginseng Diggers: A History of Root and Herb Gathering in Appalachia, which is based on extensive research into the business records of mountain entrepreneurs, country stores, and pharmaceutical companies.As the production of patent medicines and botanical pharmaceutical products escalated in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, southern Appalachia emerged as the United States’ most prolific supplier of many species of medicinal plants. We talk about this history and the unique relationship between Appalachia and the global trade of medicinal plants.