Jiangxi Liangfen

Jiangxi Liangfen

　　Liangfen: Made by boiling a decoction of liangfen herb with rice paste, then cooling it into a black, gelatinous substance that serves as a refreshing treat in hot weather. Jiangxi Liangfen is processed using this method and is especially popular during the peak summer months.

Liangfen Herb: Also known as Mesona or “immortal grass,” liangfen herb is an annual herbaceous plant that can grow up to 100 cm tall. Its stem is initially covered with sparse soft hairs and fine bristles, which mostly fall off as it matures. The leaves are opposite, with petioles measuring 2–15 mm in length; the leaf blades are broadly ovate to narrowly ovate, sometimes nearly round, 2–5.5 cm or more in length, hairy on both surfaces or only on the veins beneath, sometimes nearly glabrous. Flowers bloom in late autumn. The verticillaster inflorescences are arranged in terminal, 2–8 cm long raceme-like inflorescences; the bracts are circular or rhomboid-ovate, with acuminate tips, often slightly longer than the flowers; the calyx is seed-like, 2–2.5 mm long, with 10 longitudinal veins and numerous transverse small veins, densely covered with white soft hairs, the upper lip is 3-lobed with the middle lobe particularly large, the lower lip is entire or slightly concave; the corolla is white or slightly red, 3–3.5 mm long, the upper lip is broad with 4 teeth, the middle two not very distinct, the lower lip is boat-shaped. There are 4 stamens with exerted filaments. The fruit calyx is cup-shaped, with very prominent longitudinal and transverse veins forming many small pits; the nutlets are oblong. It commonly grows in sandy grasslands or by mountain streams. It is distributed in Zhejiang, Taiwan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi. Harvesting and processing: The above-ground parts are cut in spring and summer and then dried.