Gua Yuan Daylily

Gua Yuan Daylily

　　Gua Yuan daylily is a specialty of Gua Yuan County in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. Used in soup, it produces a rich and delicious broth; served as an accompaniment to drinks, it adds sweetness and fragrance to the wine, while also stimulating the appetite and refreshing the spirit. The daylily is used in traditional medicine for its benefits to digestion, diuresis, lactation promotion, swelling reduction, and pain relief.

　　Daylilies, also known as Hemerocallis, yellow flowers, or golden needles, are perennial herbaceous plants of the Liliaceae family, Hemerocallis genus. The name “yellow flower” comes from its color, while “golden needle” refers to its stamens. Every summer solstice, when the daylilies bloom, patches of golden yellow dot the emerald-green grasslands, complemented by the bright red of wild lilies — earning them the poetic praise “intoxicated, the sun falls at night, and the moon by day.” As a traditional delicacy, the daylily is even praised in the Book of Songs; the Three Kingdoms-era Health Preservation Classic mentions it with the line “Hemerocallis relieves sorrow and is also edible.”

　　Daylilies come in both fresh and dried forms, both considered delicious dishes. They are rich in nutrients such as carotene, vitamin B, calcium, phosphorus, iron, protein, fat, carbohydrates, and trace amounts of asparagine. Used in soup, they produce a rich and delicious broth; served as an accompaniment to drinks, they add sweetness and fragrance to the wine, while also stimulating the appetite and refreshing the spirit. The daylily is used in traditional medicine for its benefits to digestion, diuresis, lactation promotion, swelling reduction, and pain relief.

　　Daylilies are highly adaptable and were originally mostly wild, but are now cultivated in large patches in many areas. They are easy to grow, yield early, and produce high yields. They can be planted along field ridges, at the edges of plots, or around houses, not only beautifying the environment but also preventing soil erosion, making them highly valuable economically.