Hello everyone, I'm nutritionist He Haizhen. The author is a native of the countryside and a lover of Chinese herbal medicine. Follow me and share with you all kinds of common plants in the countryside every day to learn more about plant knowledge.
Today, the plant that the author shares with you is a relatively rare plant in the countryside, so not many people know it. Because the fruit of this plant looks like a miniature version of the eggplant, it is called the "hanging eggplant" because it hangs from the branches.
In fact, its botanical name is Yang Tong. In addition, Huang Ruimu, Yellow Plate Fork, Wuzhuli, etc. are its aliases. Populus poplar is a shrub or small tree plant of the family Wulinaceae, which generally grows on hillsides, roadsides, shrubs, sparse forests, valleys, streams, dense forests below 1000 altitudes.
Because Yang Tong prefers to grow in a warm environment, it is heat-resistant but not cold-resistant, so it is mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hunan, Zhejiang, Anhui, Guizhou and other provinces and regions in the mainland, with the southern region being the majority, and Japan is also distributed.
Poplar is a shrub or small tree plant, up to more than 1,000 meters, but most of the poplar is about 5 meters, the bark is gray-brown, the branches are cylindrical, the leaves are alternate, leathery, oblong oval, the surface is bright green, but the back is light green or yellow-green.
The flowers of Yang Tong are also unique, a single axillary, with 5 petals, ovate oblong to oblong, about 8 cm long, white in color, about 25 stamens inside, and a single flower column. The fruit is drooping and green when it first bears fruit, and when it is ripe, it turns purple and black, resembling a small eggplant, hence the name "hanging eggplant".
This eggplant-like fruit is a delicious wild fruit with a sweet and bitter taste. Because wild poplar trees are relatively rare, not many people have eaten its fruit, and it has a bitter taste, and this fruit is not popular among the people.
Speaking of Yang Tong, it is not very familiar to Chinese, but it is highly valued in Japan, Japanese residents often use Yang Tong as a sacrifice to the gods, almost every household will tie its branches into bundles and put them above the court to offer to the gods, which is also the traditional culture of the Japanese, so many people in Japan call Yang Tong "sacred wood".
In fact, Yang Tong is also a precious Chinese herbal medicine, its whole plant can be used in medicine, with the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, diuresis and swelling, dispelling wind and dehumidification, cold, cough, rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, waist and knee pain, pharyngitis, sore throat, sores and sores and other diseases have certain curative effects.
In recent years, Chinese herbal medicine researchers in China and Japan have found that Yang Tong has certain anti-cancer activity and has a certain inhibitory effect on a variety of cancer cells. The Japanese residents also called Yang Tong "Shenmu", so Yang Tong has the reputation of "anti-cancer Shenmu".
Yang Tong is not valued in China, but it is highly valued in Japan. In the past, some people came to the countryside to buy Yang Tong, which led to more and more people digging Yangtong, which was already scarce, is now less and less.
Dear friends, is there such a poplar in your hometown? It is commonly known as "hanging eggplant" among the people, and is also known as the "anti-cancer sacred tree", and insiders dig it up when they see it, and it is extremely rare nowadays. If you meet in your hometown, please protect it in time and don't be poached.
Remark:
1. This article is a popular science article and does not constitute medication advice, please follow the doctor's advice!
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