Ginseng refers to species within Panax , a genus of 11 species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots , in the family Araliaceae . They grow in the Northern Hemisphere in eastern Asia ( mostly northern China , Korea , and eastern Siberia ) , typically in cooler climates ; Panax vietnamensis , discovered in Vietnam , is the southernmost ginseng found . However , true ginseng plants belong to the Panax genus .