 Dubois means from the wood, and if anyone has lived up to that name, it's Jean-François Dubois. Most weekends, you can find him in Ottawa area forests, looking to identify and protect one of Canada's most endangered plants. Before I found my first one, I've looked for at least five or six years. Just walking through the bush. Yeah, almost every weekend. Fourteen years ago, Dubois found what he was looking for. Oh my god, almost like winning the lottery. Yeah. It was such a moment for me. So many emotions when I first saw it because I've read so much about it. Oh, there's a nice one. Another tree. You can see the fruit on it. Yeah, exactly. And this is the news. When you see fruits, it's mean that maybe there's a chance that there's going to be a small one growing in a year and a half. Dubois, a botanist, discovered this small patch of wild American jinsing in 2011. His gas is there around 50 plants in this spot, not enough to survive in the long run. Sadly, if it doesn't have the minimum number of plants, 170, usually the population of tendency to go down in size and eventually disappear. While jinsing is on the brink of extinction, Dubois says there are only two dozen viable populations left in Canada. This is our ivory. This is our rhino horns in Canada. Of course, it's a plant. It doesn't bleed. It doesn't cry. But it's it's danger of extinction here in Canada. We have to do something. Trade in wild American jinsing started 300 years ago. Settlers in New France traded it almost as much as fur. Over time, the market expanded. Long used in traditional Chinese medicine, physicians found the plant helps with digestion and nervousness. While jinsing's value depends on its size and shape, a root the size of a man's finger can fetch more than $500. I got to get some jinsing quick. So I went to a holler that I've never been to before. I sure enough I hit a jackpot. While jinsing poaching is the focus of two cable TV shows in the United States, Jinsing thieves are also added in Canada. And that's why Dubois discoveries are now protected under constant surveillance by conservation officers. So welcome to our evidence room. Okay. Everything here has been seized at one point and has been served as the evidence in court. Among all these contraband pelts, tusks and skins taken from well known endangered animals, people love and revere is also a seized root of Jinsing. Wildlife crime is actually one of the largest forms of crime out there. It's the fourth largest after illegal drugs and human trafficking and corruption. But when it comes to the illegal harvesting of wild jinsing, offenders are getting off with suspended sentences and fines. In Canada and generally speaking around the world, penalties for environmental laws are quite low compared to other kinds of crimes. Mainly because people don't see a human victim there. But Dubois sees a human victim. Wild Jinsing may well have unknown medicinal properties that would disappear with the plants if they become extinct. It's why he continues to explore the woods for more wild jinsing to protect. Allison Crawford, CBT News, in an Ottawa area forest.