Before entering the main topic, first come to a small dish to recall the childhood time, that is, the scrambled eggs of locust flowers, for many small partners, this is full of childhood memories, but also one of the most classic dishes, fried out of the fresh color, floral aroma, is a refreshing and delicious dish at home. Experienced friends will pair it with leeks, and after the locust flowers are fried, they will be mixed in egg liquid and then fried, so that they will taste better.
Of course, today's protagonist is not an egg, but a locust tree, in a broad sense, its distribution is still relatively widespread, basically most provinces can see its figure, but you know? There are many varieties of locust trees, and the locust flowers you often see or eat may not be domestic, but imported!
What's going on? The original locust tree is divided into national locust and acacia, from the name can be clear their origin, the national locust is also known as bean locust, white locust, fine leaf locust, house tree, family locust, etc., mainly distributed in the northern vast area, and acacia native to the United States, introduced from Europe at the end of the 18th century to Qingdao cultivation, is now distributed in China's altitude between 400 ~ 1200 meters between the vast area.
There are many similarities between the national locust and the acacia, so many people are stupid and unclear, in addition to the above differences, the national locust has no thorns, the acacia has thorns, so it is also called acacia, which is the most obvious difference; the national locust leaves are slightly darker in color, flowering in the summer, the flower color is slightly light green, and the fruit of the bean horn; and the acacia flowering season in the late spring, the flower color is mostly white, bearing pod-like fruit. The national locust grows slower than the acacia and has a longer lifespan, so it has become a tree with a local complex.
In terms of varieties, there are many varieties of Chinese locust, such as: five-leaf locust, dragon claw locust, hairy leaf locust, viola locust, ping'an locust and so on. Acacia variants are more powerful, not only there are normal varieties such as Acacia, Acacia with curved branches, columnar locust, small-leaf locust, etc., as well as varieties with leaves such as safflower locust, golden leaf locust and even petals with color, and our common acacia is basically The acacia, which is known for its growth rate, so it is planted in many places, and it is an excellent material for house construction, furniture, etc., known as the king of the locust tree.
Whether it is acacia or acacia, their whole body is a treasure, based on drought tolerance, salinity resistance and pest resistance and other excellent characteristics, in Our country has a large area of planting, some of the national locust is used as a landscaping tree, such as: dragon claw locust, commonly found in parks, buildings around, residential areas and lawns. Due to its shallow and developed root system and strong adaptability, acacia is an excellent sand fixation and soil retention tree species, which is an ideal choice for afforestation.
Locust flower is an excellent source of honey plants, locust honey is also one of the four major honey, seeds have a wide range of uses in the food industry, squeezed into oil is a high-quality raw material for soap and paint, locust bean gum is often compounded with other edible glue as thickeners, water holding agents, adhesives and gelling agents. Locust leaves contain crude protein, can be used as animal feed, can also be medicated, locust branches, locust roots, locust horns are all able to enter the medicine, medicinal value is very large.
You think that's the end of it? In 2017, the government of Lianshan Town, Guanghan City, Deyang, Sichuan Province, planted 100,000 acacia (acacia) in Longquan Mountain and Tiger Mountain as a "biological fire isolation forest belt", and with the efforts of forest fire prevention team members, there has not been a single wildfire here since then. Taking advantage of the rapid growth of acacias, the living space of weeds is compressed, coupled with their high temperature resistance and non-combustible characteristics, which not only greatly reduces the probability of fire, but also saves the cost of opening an isolation belt.
For acacia, although it has only entered our country for two or three hundred years of history, there are still feelings for it, mainly staying in the scrambled eggs of locust flowers, or steaming locust flowers and so on to eat and drink, which is the memory of taste. In contrast, the national locust is really a kind of tree on the tall, how high is it? Even the three princes and nine secretaries in ancient times had to rely on rubbing its traffic to survive!
Not to mention that it often appears in the mythological stories of the ancient period, in the ancient books and documents of the dynasties, the debut is also very early, the late Shang Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, politicians, military experts, Tao Strategists, the founding father of the Zhou Dynasty, the most cattle angler in history Jiang Ziya, compiled the "Taigong Jinkui" on the locust tree, described it as a tree that can block the gods. The Qi statesman Yan Zi said in "Yanzi Spring and Autumn" that Qi Jinggong loved the locust tree as if he were destined, stipulating that if someone injured the locust tree, he would be sentenced, and if he committed it, he would die! Therefore, the history of the cultivation of the locust tree dates back at least to before the Zhou Dynasty, which has a long history, and it often appears in the literature compiled by celebrities, and gradually it has a higher status.
In the "Shangshu Zhou Shu Zhou Guan", it is recorded that the face is three acacias, and the three dukes are in the position. This means that when the three highest-ranking officials of the Zhou Dynasty saw the Heavenly Son, they needed to face three locust trees, behind which were 18 thorn trees, the nine trees on the left were the dynasties of the orphans, qing, and dafu, the nine trees on the right were the dynasties of gong, hou, bo, zi, and male, and then behind them were the dynasties of the group of officials. Therefore, since the Zhou Dynasty, the locust tree has represented high-ranking officials, such as "Huai Ding" represents the position of the three dukes or the three dukes, that is, the ruling ministers of those extremely popular ministers; "Huai Qing" refers to the three dukes and nine secretaries; and "Huai Yan", "Huai Chen", "Huai Ye", "Huai Fu", etc., basically all mean titles or residences, but they must all have the word "Huai". Therefore, there will be many locust trees planted in the court, which is why the Chongzhen Emperor chose to hang on the locust tree.
The locust tree not only influenced the history of feudal society for thousands of years in the official field, but also suffered a profound impact in the examination of the imperial examination, since the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, many readers have taken the reading examination as a stepping stone, with the intention of seeking fame and fortune, glory and wealth, and even ascending to the position of the three dukes and moving towards the peak of life. Therefore, in the year when there is a imperial examination, it is called huaiqiu, the examination is called stepping locust, and the month of the examination is called huaihuang.
In the folk, locust tree is also a symbol of auspicious and auspicious, the so-called ten years of trees, the former people planted trees after the people cool, locust trees are one of this kind of big trees, before in the countryside as long as there is empty space will be planted a locust tree, not only has a good greening effect, or a good place to cool off in summer. There is an old saying called: a locust in front of the door, the wealth itself comes, the locust here refers to the national locust, not the acacia, the previous rural grain production is not high, can eat a good family, then the locust rice has become a very important source of income, it can be used as a medicinal material to sell money, so there is a national locust tree at home, which is the guarantee of wealth.
Because of the high status of the national locust, it is often planted directly outside the gate, which means to attract wealth and fortune, then some people have to ask, since it is so highly respected, why not plant it in the courtyard inside the house? There is also an old saying in the countryside called: mulberry soap du pear locust, not suitable for entering the Yang house, which clearly points out that the locust tree is not suitable for planting in the home, as for the reason, one is that the locust word carries a "ghost" word, and the other may be related to the customs of feudal society.
But with the development of the times, people's living standards have long been greatly improved, the economic value brought by locust trees has reached a negligible degree, the rural planting of locust trees is basically very little, coupled with the slow growth rate of the national locust, has not adapted to the efficient and rapid economic era, so many places can not see its figure, either replaced by acacia, or can only witness a short posture in the green belt, park, once tall image only stayed in memory. But the acacia is due to the unique advantage of fast growth and later on, coupled with strong adaptability, has thrown the national locust a few streets, 3,000 years ago the first generation of the top stream, even the prince general, the three dukes and nine secretaries have to rub the heat of the national locust, is this gone?