Eric Burkhart

Program Director, Appalachian Botany and Ethnobotany, Shaver's Creek Environmental Center

Eric Burkhart

Huck Affiliations

Publication Tags

Leaves Phenology Alkaloids Forest Farming Harvest Date Wild Plants Citizen Scientists Panax Harvest Hydrastis Shrub Wild Plant Benzylisoquinoline Alkaloid Panax Quinquefolius Citizen Planting Allium Tricoccum Hydrastis Canadensis Shrubs Benzylisoquinolines Canadine Hydrastine Bulbs Forest Plants Appalachian Region

Most Recent Publications

Ramp (Allium tricoccum Ait.) weight differs across the harvest season: implications for wild plant stewardship and forest farming

Sarah E. Nilson, Eric P. Burkhart, R. Teal Jordan, Joshua D. Lambert, 2022, Agroforestry Systems

The identification of mesophytic cove sites in Pennsylvania.

Calvin Norman, Eric Burkhart, Kathryn Schmidt, Ephraim Zimmerman, 2021,

Goods from the woods: ramps Allium tricoccum, a popular edible non-timber forest product with growing commercial appeal.

Eric Burkhart, Cathryn Pugh, Cassie Stark, 2021, Pennsylvania Forests on p. 37

Neither Wild nor Cultivated: American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) Seller Surveys Provide Insights into in situ Planting and Husbandry<sup>1</sup>

Eric Burkhart, Grady Zuiderveen, Sarah Nilson, Catherine Pugh, S Nilson, Grady Zuiderveen, 2021, Economic Botany on p. 126-143

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloid content in goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) is influenced by phenological stage, reproductive status, and time-of-day

Grady Zuiderveen, E Burkhart, Joshua Lambert, 2021, Phytochemistry Letters on p. 61-67

Promotion of in situ Forest Farmed American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) as a Sustainable Use Strategy: Opportunities and Challenges

Hong Liu, Eric Burkhart, Vivian Chen, Xi Wei, 2021, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

Citizen scientists record novel leaf phenology of invasive shrubs in eastern U.S. forests

Erynn Maynard-Bean, Margot Kaye, Tyler Wagner, Eric P. Burkhart, 2020, Biological Invasions on p. 3325-3337

Investing in forests and communities: a pathway to sustainable supply of forest farmed herbs

Holly Chittum, Eric Burkhart, John Munsell, Steve Kruger, 2019, Herbalgram on p. 60-77

Wild goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) rhizome/root alkaloid content in relation to colony and harvest stage

Eric Burkhart, Grady Zuiderveen, 2019, Journal of Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants on p. 128-140

Ramps: an important forest resource and emerging forest "crop"

Eric Burkhart, 2019, Forest Leaves

Most-Cited Papers

Neither Wild nor Cultivated: American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) Seller Surveys Provide Insights into in situ Planting and Husbandry<sup>1</sup>

Eric Burkhart, Grady Zuiderveen, Sarah Nilson, Catherine Pugh, S Nilson, Grady Zuiderveen, 2021, Economic Botany on p. 126-143

Citizen scientists record novel leaf phenology of invasive shrubs in eastern U.S. forests

Erynn Maynard-Bean, Margot Kaye, Tyler Wagner, Eric P. Burkhart, 2020, Biological Invasions on p. 3325-3337

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloid content in goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) is influenced by phenological stage, reproductive status, and time-of-day

Grady Zuiderveen, E Burkhart, Joshua Lambert, 2021, Phytochemistry Letters on p. 61-67

Ramp (Allium tricoccum Ait.) weight differs across the harvest season: implications for wild plant stewardship and forest farming

Sarah E. Nilson, Eric P. Burkhart, R. Teal Jordan, Joshua D. Lambert, 2022, Agroforestry Systems

Slipping away? Slippery elm in the herbal marketplace - past, present and future

Eric Burkhart, 2016, Journal of Medicinal Plant Conservation on p. 4

American ginseng: a threatened native plant with specialty crop potential

Eric Burkhart, 2014, Keystone Wild Notes on p. 19-22

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) floristic associations in Pennsylvania: Guidance for identifying calcium-rich forest farming sites

Eric Burkhart, 2013, Agroforestry Systems on p. 1157-1172

The identification of mesophytic cove sites in Pennsylvania.

Calvin Norman, Eric Burkhart, Kathryn Schmidt, Ephraim Zimmerman, 2021,

Goods from the woods: ramps Allium tricoccum, a popular edible non-timber forest product with growing commercial appeal.

Eric Burkhart, Cathryn Pugh, Cassie Stark, 2021, Pennsylvania Forests on p. 37

Investing in forests and communities: a pathway to sustainable supply of forest farmed herbs

Holly Chittum, Eric Burkhart, John Munsell, Steve Kruger, 2019, Herbalgram on p. 60-77

News Articles Featuring Eric Burkhart

Nov 08, 2022

Ramped up: Higher demand for wild leeks has foragers overeager, threatens plant

Early spring enthusiasm for ramps — also known as wild leeks — may be causing lower plant yields and threatening communities of the forest herb, according to Penn State researchers.

Full Article

Sep 22, 2022

The secret, lucrative world of Pennsylvania’s wild ginseng diggers

Sang, a longtime nickname for the mysterious and lucrative ginseng root, might just be Pennsylvania’s most valuable crop, often selling for hundreds of dollars per pound. Some say the slow-growing root is being exploited, overharvested by deer or greedy newcomers.

Full Article

Aug 19, 2021

Researchers help track the growth of ginseng forest farming in Pennsylvania

There is good and bad news about ginseng collection and production in Pennsylvania, and likely much of Appalachia, according to a new study conducted by Penn State researchers.

Full Article

Aug 19, 2020

Invasive shrubs in Northeast forests grow leaves earlier and keep them longer

The rapid pace that invasive shrubs infiltrate forests in the northeastern United States makes scientists suspect they have a consistent advantage over native shrubs, and the first region-wide study of leaf timing, conducted by Penn State researchers, supports those suspicions.

Full Article

Jul 15, 2020

Ecology Institute announces grant recipients

The Ecology Institute has awarded 11 proposals from across the University as part of its Flower Grant program, including five projects submitted by faculty at Commonwealth Campuses.

Full Article

Jan 08, 2020

Demand for ginseng is creating a ‘wild west’ in Appalachia

With poachers cashing in on the Chinese appetite for American ginseng, growers are arming up.

Full Article

Nov 25, 2019

Forest farms could create market for ginseng, other herbs

A transition from wild collection of herbs to forest farming needs to occur in Appalachia to make the opaque, unstable and unjust supply chain for forest medicinal plants such as ginseng sustainable, according to a team of researchers who have studied the market for more than a decade.

Full Article