Research into rhodiola's potential as Alaska crop continues

It’s been more than a decade since the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service started researching a small plant that has the potential to be Alaska’s next value-added agricultural product.

Rhodiola rosea grows wild in northern Europe and Siberia and has been used as a folk remedy for thousands of years. Today, rhodiola, also called golden root and rose root, is used as an ingredient for herbal remedies and sports drinks as a substitute for caffeine. It is also used in skincare products.

“It’s really starting to take off,” said Stephen Brown, an agricultural agent with the UAF Cooperative Extension Service. Several businesses in Alaska are selling rhodiola products, but they’re in high demand and short supply.

Rhodiola is a bushy succulent that grows to about 18 inches tall. The plant is harvested for its root, which takes four to five years to mature when grown domestically. Where it grows in the wild, mostly in subarctic regions in China and Siberia, that timeline can be extended for years.

Given rhodiola’s popularity around the world as an herbal supplement and users’ reliance on wild stocks, the species has been depleted. It has been added or nominated for endangered species lists in several countries. However, parts of Alaska have an ideal climate for rhodiola to thrive as a domestic crop, says Petra Illig, an emergency medical physician in Anchorage who owns a business that sells rhodiola products, Alaska Rhodiola Enterprises.

It’s a huge opportunity for Alaska farmers, she said.

“My concern is that we are getting so busy with sales of rhodiola products and inquiries about raw materials — this isn’t going to work if we don’t have enough growers,” Illig said. “I truly believe Alaska could become the premier rhodiola supplier on the planet.”

Rhodiola, which likes cool, damp summers and cold winters is ideal for farmers in Southcentral Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula. Besides a lack of general information about the plant and its potential uses, Illig said the long period between seeding and harvest – about five years — is a deterrent.

If Alaska farmers grew just a total of 100 acres of rhodiola, it would be enough to fuel another successful export, Illig said.

Similar to how Alaska’s peonies have found their summer niche in the flower market, rhodiola has its own following.

“Botanical companies, naturopaths and herbalists love this plant,” she said. “It’s a special plant, it’s such a rare commodity.”

— Julie Stricker