Fengdu Water Bamboo

Fengdu Water Bamboo

　　Water bamboo is a unique aquatic vegetable in China, belonging to the Poaceae family. It is a perennial aquatic herbaceous plant with white creeping rhizomes at the root base, which sprout in spring to produce new shoots. Worldwide, only China and Vietnam cultivate water bamboo as a vegetable. In ancient times, it was called "gū." Before the Tang Dynasty, water bamboo was cultivated as a grain crop, and its seeds were known as gūmǐ or diāohú, one of the "six grains" (tú, shǔ, jì, liáng, mài, gū). Later, people discovered that some gū plants, when infected with the smut fungus, failed to form spikes but showed no signs of disease. Instead, their stems continuously swelled, gradually forming spindle-shaped fleshy stems — what we now know as water bamboo. As a result, people began using the smut fungus to prevent flowering and fruiting, propagating these diseased yet edible mutated plants as vegetables. Today, healthy plants that do flower and produce seeds are instead considered degenerate or wild varieties. Water bamboo produces flower stems in early summer or autumn, bearing large conical panicles at the top, with both male and female flowers on the same plant — females on top, males below. It forms slender cylindrical achenes, known as "gūmǐ." Water bamboo thrives in warm, humid climates and grows well in clayey soil. Ancient varieties were typically autumn-harvested single-crop types, but by the Ming Dynasty, double-crop varieties for both summer and autumn were developed. Water bamboo is cultivated across China from the northeast to the south, with the Taihu Lake region being the most prominent. Renowned varieties mainly come from the areas around Wuxi, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. It has a delicious taste and certain nutritional value. According to *Compendium of Materia Medica*, water bamboo has medicinal effects such as "relieving irritability and regulating the stomach and intestines," as well as detoxifying and promoting urination. Water bamboo is rich in nutrients. Per 100 grams, it contains 21.75–23.35 grams of crude protein, 0.63–0.66 grams of fat, 685–720 milligrams of vitamin C, 9.16–9.44 grams of reducing sugar, and 11.26–12.69 grams of amino acids. It includes all 17 types of amino acids, among which threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, and lysine are essential for the human body. Over 1,000 years ago, water bamboo, water shield, and perch were listed as the three famous dishes of the Jiangnan region.

　　　Fengdu Town’s water bamboo benefits from traditional cultivation methods and thrives under its unique climate and soil conditions. Known for being tender, white, crisp, clean, and delicious, it is also rich in 22 nutrients including protein, fat, and dietary fiber. Varieties include double-season and single-season water bamboo. Double-season types are harvested in early April and early September of the lunar calendar, while single-season types are divided into early-, mid-, and late-maturing strains, all improved through new technologies. Early-maturing varieties grown in greenhouses can even be available around May Day, giving Fengdu water bamboo a high reputation in the market.

　　　　Fengdu water bamboo can be categorized into the following types based on maturity and ecological classification:

　　　　(1) Single-Crop Water Bamboo

　　　　1. Field Water Bamboo Cultivated in shallow paddy fields. Transplanted in spring, harvested in autumn of the same year.

　　　　2. Pond Water Bamboo Cultivated along ponds or ditches. Transplanted in spring, harvested in autumn of the same year.

　　　　(2) Double-Crop Water Bamboo

　　　　1. Summer-Autumn Dual-Purpose Type Transplanted in spring, harvested in autumn (autumn crop) and again in summer of the following year (summer crop). The yield difference between autumn and summer crops is minimal, generally around 1,200–1,500 kilograms per mu per season.

　　　　2. Summer Crop–Focused Type Transplanted in spring (or late summer), harvested in autumn of the same year (autumn crop) and in summer of the following year (summer crop). The autumn crop yield is relatively low, usually about 400–600 kilograms per mu, while the summer crop yield is higher, typically around 2,000 kilograms per mu.