Walking by the river in the community on the weekend, I saw a few old ladies digging wild vegetables on the riverbank, and when I looked closer, I realized that they were digging a plant that is very common in the countryside - plantain.
It is estimated that friends who grew up in rural areas know it, which is a plant that grows on the roadside, ditch, and even the open space behind the house in the countryside, and it is also very easy to identify.
When my daughter-in-law saw it, she asked them, can this thing be eaten? What do you dig for? It is true that the editor has also heard of the name of plantain for a long time, but he has only heard of it, and he does not know its use and value.
They told us that this season's plantain is very tender, can be eaten as a wild vegetable, and is very delicious. He even shared with us how to eat plantain, which can be mixed cold, stir-fried, stuffed, made into soup or steamed with noodles after boiling water. So do you know plantain? And what is its value? Let's find out together!
What is plantain?
The scientific name of plantain is flat plantain, which is mostly called toad coat and oxtongue grass in the folklore, which is an annual or biennial herb of the genus Plantain of the plantago family, and is also a plant widely distributed in the mainland. It has a strong vitality, can withstand both drought and barrenness, even grows on the side of the road, often trampled on the will not die.
There is also a folk legend about the plantain. According to legend, during the Han Dynasty, there was a general named Ma Wu who led his soldiers to conquer the Qiang people of Wuling, but because he was unfamiliar with the local terrain, he suffered defeat and was finally besieged in a deserted place.
During this period, it was the height of summer, and the warriors, geese and horses all suffered from "uremia" due to long-term lack of water, so they urgently needed drugs to clear heat and water. But this place is very barren, it can be said that birds do not. This also made General Ma Wu and the soldiers very anxious.
Later, the horseman saw that the three horses with urine had actually been cured, and after observation, it turned out that they had eaten a weed on the side of the road.
So Mafu tried some out of curiosity and found that it worked. So he immediately told General Ma Wu, who was also very happy, and ordered the soldiers to eat this weed. Unexpectedly, after taking it, it was indeed cured.
So after the soldiers recovered their health, their morale was boosted and they were killed in one fell swoop. Since then, this plant that loves to grow on the side of the road has a name in front of the flat car and has been passed down from generation to generation.
Can plantain really be eaten?
Plantain is indeed edible, and this is recorded in many ancient books. In fact, the earliest record of plantain appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty's medical famous "Shennong Materia Medica", but at that time plantain was called "Dangdao", which is also very graphic, pointing out that it loves to grow on the side of the road.
In addition, there are records of plantain in medical classics such as "Famous Doctors", "Thousand Golden Formulas", and "Compendium of Materia Medica". It is particularly worth mentioning that plantain was also recorded in the Ming Dynasty's "Rescue the Waste", which is a book dedicated to recording various edible wild vegetables, which shows that it was eaten as a wild vegetable at that time.
It can be seen that plantain is a medicinal and edible plant with a long history in the mainland, which can be eaten as a wild vegetable, can also be used to make tea and drink, and can also be used for medicine. In Chinese medicine, it is believed that its main value is the use of diuresis, clearing heat, clear eyes, and expectorant.
In the past, some elderly people in rural areas loved to use plantain to soak in water in summer, which is also because plantain has the effect of clearing heat and brightening purposes, and many people in summer are prone to "liver fire", and boiling water with plantain is very beneficial to the body. Some people will also boil plantain porridge to drink, the same also has the function of clearing fire, bright eyes, diuresis and expectorant, especially for those who are easy to get on fire, plantain porridge is undoubtedly an excellent "food therapy" secret recipe.
In addition, if it is a little cold, such as cough, phlegm, etc., plantain decoction flushing can also relieve these symptoms well, because it also has a good expectorant, cough, asthma and other effects.
Now that summer is about to begin again, for some people who are easy to get on fire, you can pick some tender plantain to eat as wild vegetables, whether it is cold mix, or stir-fry, boiled soup, boiled porridge is good. However, it should be noted that plantain is a medicinal herb after all, whether it is boiled water to drink, or eaten as a wild vegetable, you must know the "principle of moderation", and should not be overtaken or over-dependent.
It is worth mentioning that plantain has begun to be planted in some places today, because it is a plant with high medicinal value, and the market demand is also very large, especially in the food and health industry, with the deepening of the research on plantain, its more value is well known, so its development potential is very huge. Dear friends, do you know plantain? Have you eaten? Welcome to leave a message to discuss!