Purple Water Chestnut Isle

Purple Water Chestnut Isle

Purple Water Chestnut Isle is rich in aquatic plants. In spring, there’s wheat-yellow grass; in summer, lotus flowers, water chestnuts, and lotus roots abound. A local proverb goes: “July for water chestnuts, August for lotus roots, and September for gorgon fruits.” This means timing is key to a bountiful harvest. Traditional Chinese medicine regards gorgon fruit as an excellent tonic for autumn nourishment and views it as a longevity-promoting delicacy. Lotus roots, originally from India, have been cultivated in China for three thousand years. Every part of the lotus root is valuable—the lotus seeds are a nutritious tonic food, while the lotus root itself is cool in nature and sweet in flavor, benefiting the heart, spleen, and stomach meridians. Water chestnuts also possess strong medicinal properties. When raw, they are sweet, cool, and non-toxic, acting on the intestines and stomach. They help promote urination, stimulate lactation, quench thirst, relieve alcohol intoxication, and treat sores.