(Yicai Global) Jan. 9 -- A ginseng specimen, which experts say is the heaviest of its kind ever found, was on display in Changchun in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin, China News reported.

A firm in Jilin purchased the plant from a farmer at the end of last year. The farmer said he dug up the find in Lesser Khingan Mountains in August 2017 and that its net weight was nearly 600 grams. It now tips scales at 511.59 grams after being cleaned and sampled.

Jilin has the world's largest ginseng output.

"Such a large fresh wild ginseng is extremely rare," said Zhang Lianxue, Jilin provincial ginseng engineering technology research center director, adding that older ginseng synthesizes more active genes.

China Ministry of Agriculture researcher Liu Jianyong said it is the largest ginseng sample he has seen in his identification career of many years.

Experts have not confirmed the age of the plant. Based on growth of about 3 grams per year its estimated age is 200 years.

The specimen may be worth more than a 260-gram one that went for CNY9 million (USD1.4 million) at auction in Wuzhen in December.

Ginseng is a traditional tonic in China. As it grows slowly, and demand has risen, its value has soared. About six kilograms of wild ginseng sell on the Chinese market each year, per Jilin Renshen Academe statistics.