Hong'an General's Vegetable

Hong'an General's Vegetable

　　General's Vegetable is produced in the Dabie Mountains. It belongs to a large family of plants in the Asteraceae family. In various regions of China, what is called "bitter vegetable" includes more than ten types such as those from the genera Sonchus, Lactuca, Ixeris, and Cichorium. Ancient texts record its many alternative names, such as "Ku" in the Book of Songs, "Tu" in the Original Elegance Commentary, "Ku Mai" in the Book of Jin, "You Dong" in the Names of Medical Herbs, "Jiu Ju" in the Jiayou Materia Medica, "Tian Xiang Cai" in the Compendium of Materia Medica, and "Tian Jing Cai" in the Complete Treatise on Agriculture. The abundance of its names reflects how highly people regard it. It can be used as a dish to accompany meals, cooked into a soup to relieve hunger, or prepared as medicine to treat illnesses. Li Shizhen said: “Bitter vegetable is also known as bitter sowthistle. Its stem is hollow and brittle, and when broken, it releases white sap.”

　　Its leaves resemble those of flower radish greens but are green with a bluish tint. The upper leaves wrap around the stem, while the tip leaves resemble a crane’s beak, each leaf forked and standing upright as if piercing through the leaves. It blooms with yellow flowers, like newly opened wild chrysanthemums. Each flower produces a cluster of seeds, similar to those of wormwood and puncturevine. After flowering, the plant contracts, and the seeds are covered with fluffy white hairs that float with the wind and germinate wherever they land.” According to scientific analysis, bitter vegetable contains various components such as mannitol, cerin, choline, and tartaric acid. Although it is bitter, once processed, it has a uniquely pleasant flavor. Fresh and tender bitter vegetable is de-rooted, washed, scalded in hot water, and kneaded to remove the bitterness. It can then be dried in the sun and cooked with lard, or stir-fried with sesame oil and chili to stimulate the appetite. When used medicinally, it can treat a variety of ailments. The Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica states that it is “bitter and cold, and is mainly used to treat pathogenic qi in the five internal organs, loss of appetite and stomach paralysis. Long-term consumption calms the mind, benefits qi, lightens the body, and promotes longevity.” The Materia Medica Commentary says it “when broken, exudes white milky sap, which can often be applied to warts until they fall off on their own.”