Toad, this is a very common small animal in the countryside.
In the summer, rural yards often have toads running in the wild. This animal looks a little disgusted because of the potholes on its back. Especially for people with dense phobia, it can be a little scary to see it.
But toads, though ugly, are also of great value.
There is a plant in the countryside whose leaves look like toads. In the eyes of most people, it is also a weed, and when it is encountered, it is basically eradicated directly.
As everyone knows, it has a very high value, not only is it a high-quality wild vegetable, but also can be used in medicine. If you meet in the wild, remember to bring it back, it is valuable.
It is a well-known "toad grass" in the countryside, also called lychee grass, can you know it?
What kind of grass is lychee grass?
Even if you don't know its name, many people should have seen it. Lychee grass is widely distributed in China, and there are dozens of small names in the folk.
Among them, the more widely spread ones are lychee grass, frog grass, wrinkled fur grass, leper grass, leper grass, toad grass, pigwoman grass and so on.
This is a biennial upright herb of the genus Sage in the family Labiaceae, and it is also a very recognizable plant that can be remembered after basically seeing it once.
Lychee grass has nothing to do with the lychee we eat as a fruit, probably because its leaves are wrinkled like the skin of the lychee. This plant is often mistaken for mint because their leaves are somewhat similar.
The leaves are oblong or lanceolate, with round or blunt teeth on the edges, golden glandular spots on the back, and short hairs on both sides.
And this plant grows fast, the plant is tall and large, generally can grow to 20-90cm, its main root is very fat, but not long. It grows upright and downward, and there are also many short soft hairs on top.
It is found in most parts of the country and can be found in all but a few provinces such as Xinjiang, Gansu, Tibet and Qinghai.
Only because it has a strong vitality, resistant to barrenness and drought, and has a strong hardiness, often growing on hillsides, roadsides, ditches, and wet soil in fields.
It is often treated as a weed but has a high value
Because this plant has strong vitality, the plant is relatively tall, the leaves are very distinctive, and people will never forget, so it has also become a weed with a high rate of appearance, and many farmers regard it as a weed.
For the lychee grass that grows near the yard, on the edge of the field and in the vegetable garden, it is generally directly eradicated.
As everyone knows, although this plant does not grow beautifully, its value is not small. It can not only be eaten as a wild vegetable, but also has a high medicinal value, which can be regarded as a deeply hidden "treasure plant".
There is also a very poetic name for lychee grass in the folk - Yukimi Grass, which is a name recorded in the "Compendium of Materia Medica", and Li Shizhen even called it "Soul Grass" and "Aster Flower". This plant is also recorded in more detail in the "Compendium of Materia Medica".
As a kind of Chinese herbal medicine in China, it is a whole herb that can be medicated, mainly with the effect of clearing heat, detoxification, cooling blood and diuresis. In the past, it was widely used for bruises, bronchitis, anonymous swelling and flu sore throat.
Generally in the winter, or the Spring Festival, choose the dried lychee grass without dry moss and young grass to be used later. If you really need to take medicine, please follow your doctor's advice.
It is worth mentioning that lychee grass is still a good wild vegetable, in the spring, after the young leaves of the local lychee grass grow, some old farmers will pick them to scramble eggs to eat, or use it to soak water to drink.
In some places in the north, it is more like to use the young leaves of lychee grass as filling to wrap dumplings to eat, in short, there are many ways to eat, especially ly lychee grass fried eggs, it is more widely spread.
Lychee grass eating reference
There are still many ways to eat lychee grass, and no matter which one to eat, it is relatively simple. Among them, lychee grass fried eggs are very classic, and it is estimated that many friends who grew up in rural areas have also eaten before.
In the spring, the young stems and leaves of the lychee grass are picked, washed clean, and chopped with a knife. Then take two or three eggs, stir with the appropriate amount of lychee grass leaves, pour oil from the pan, fry in oil and eat.
In addition to fried eggs, you can also eat pancakes with flour. The method is similar. It is to chop the lychee grass, and then stir it well with the right amount of flour and water, pour it into the pot and fry it into a cake to eat.
This way of eating is not only delicious and nutritious, but also has a good medicinal effect. Like in the past, when a child coughed, he would usually use it to fry eggs for the child to eat. There is also a simpler way, that is, directly use the leaves of lychee grass to boil water to drink, and drink it as a tea while it is hot, which is still very good for coughs caused by some colds.
Conclusion
As the saying goes: not understanding is grass, understanding is treasure. Although the lychee grass grows a little ugly, its value is not small. If you encounter it in the wild, remember to bring it back, you can use it to fry eggs, dough cakes, dumplings, you can also dry it, and then keep it for soaking water to drink, which is effective for sore throat and throat discomfort.
Friends, do you know this plant? Don't get rid of it as a weed in the future, it's always useful to keep it.