【Haichuan Food Guessing Game】A vegetable that looks like sugarcane and tastes sweet and sour

It is also very nutritious, containing various vitamins and amino acids. It can grow to a height of one or two meters; in the past, if children in the countryside wanted to eat it, they could simply cut it down and eat it. In fact, this vegetable also has high medicinal value; it possesses various effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, clearing the lungs and reducing phlegm, as well as promoting diuresis. However, many people nowadays may not have eaten this type of vegetable, but those who grew up in the countryside are quite familiar with it.

I ate it when I was little; it’s hollow in the middle, right?

They are all eaten while still in their bud stage. As a child I used to go up the mountains to pick them; they didn’t have a sweet taste – they were just sour. They are common in rocky areas and often appear alongside snakes: funk:

:Lol, how is this eaten? Cut it into strips, slices, or cubes; if there’s a hollow space in the middle, it can be filled with filling: lol

Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival, there grows a green plant by the riverside, with dark purple patterns on its outer skin. Once it’s picked and washed clean, the outer skin can be easily removed; beneath it lies a green, hollow stem. When put in the mouth, it gives off a sour taste that’s absolutely intense.

Reynoutria japonica Houtt. 【Alternative names】 Kawakinryu, Suan Tang Gan, Kahanbaku Ne, Bansho Ne, Daiセキコツ, Oyō Hebi Sōkan, Suan Tō Ryo, Suan Tō Gan, Suan Tō Kei, Kahanbaku, Kakutei Dan, Kakutei Ryū, Kyūryū Ne, Suan Tō Kan, Inyō Ren. 【Family and Genus】 Polygonaceae, genus Reynoutria. 【Plant morphology】 Perennial herb. The rhizome is thick and spreading. The stem is erect, 1–2 meters tall, thick, hollow, with distinct longitudinal ridges and small protrusions; it is hairless and scattered with red or purplish-red spots. The leaf is broadly ovate or ovate-elliptical, 5–12 cm long and 4–9 cm wide; it is nearly leathery in texture. The apex is gradually pointed, while the base is broadly wedge-shaped, truncate, or nearly round. The margin is entire with sparse small protrusions; both surfaces are hairless, with small protrusions along the veins ； The petiole is 1–2 cm long, with small protrusions ； The stipular sheath is membranous, oblique, 3–5 mm long, brown, with longitudinal veins, hairless, with a truncate apex, without hairs, often ruptured, and falls off early. Flowers are unisexual, dioecious; the inflorescence is conical, 3–8 cm long, and axillary ； Bracts are funnel-shaped, 1.5–2 mm long, with a gradually pointed tip; they are hairless, and each bract contains 2–4 flowers ； The pedicel is 2–4 mm long, with joints in its middle and lower parts ； The perianth is deeply divided into 5 parts, pale green in color; the perianth segments of male flowers have a green midrib and are wingless. There are 8 stamens, which are longer than the perianth ； The outer 3 sepals of the female flower have wings on their backs; these wings enlarge when the fruit develops and extend downward. There are 3 stamens, and the stigmas are fringed. The achenes are oval, with 3 ridges, 4–5 mm in length, dark brown and shiny, enclosed within the persistent perianth. Flowering occurs from August to September, and fruiting from September to October.

Sour bamboo shoots, “Polygonum cuspidatum” – no one here eats them. Tonggan is still an excellent herbal medicine; in the past, when medical conditions in rural areas were poor, people used it to treat illnesses. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting gallbladder function to reduce jaundice, dispelling wind and dampness, resolving stasis and relieving pain, as well as stopping coughs and reducing phlegm. It is used to treat various symptoms such as joint pain and stiffness, damp-heat jaundice, amenorrhea, abdominal masses, excessive phlegm in coughs, burns from fire or water, injuries from falls, as well as abscesses and sores.