Wild vegetables of Zhangjiajie

Wild vegetables of Zhangjiajie

　　Wild vegetables of Zhangjiajie: wild bracken, silver bamboo shoot strips, mountain bamboo shoots, daylily buds, Chinese toon, and dragon tendon vegetable

Wild bracken:

Also known as "black glutinous rice," and called "dragon head vegetable." Bracken not only tastes tender and smooth but also has high nutritional value. Every 100 grams of fresh product contains 0.43 grams of protein, 0.36 grams of fat, 3.6 grams of carbohydrates, 0.45 grams of organic acids, and various vitamins and minerals, several to more than ten times that of commonly cultivated vegetables, earning it the reputation of "king of mountain vegetables." Bracken is sweet in taste and cold in nature. As a medicinal herb, it helps detoxify, clear heat, moisten the intestines, reduce qi, and resolve phlegm. Regular consumption can help treat high blood pressure, dizziness, insomnia, uterine bleeding, chronic arthritis, and also has preventive effects against influenza.

Daylily buds:

Daylily flowers are perennial herbaceous plants of the genus Hemerocallis in the Liliaceae family. Also known as daylily, forget-me-not flower, or yellow flower vegetable. The dried product is called daylily bud.

Daylily flowers have an underground bulbous stem; the whole plant is smooth and hairless. Leaves grow in clusters from the rootstock, are narrow and long, lanceolate, with parallel veins. Flower stems emerge from the leaf clusters, branching at a height of 80 cm, with several golden-yellow, fragrant, funnel-shaped flowers blooming at the top from June to August. Each flower blooms for just one day.

The best time to harvest daylily buds is a few hours before they are about to bloom. At this time, the middle part of the bud is golden yellow, the ends are green, and the purple spots at the tip have just faded. Although each individual flower blooms for only one day, the blooming times of the entire plant are staggered, resulting in a relatively long flowering period. Therefore, harvesting must be done daily once the flowers begin to bloom.

Fresh daylily buds contain toxic colchicine, and excessive consumption can cause adverse reactions such as vomiting and diarrhea.

There are two methods to detoxify daylily buds. The first method is to soak the buds in clean water for two hours, then gently squeeze out the water and rinse again with clean water. The second method is to first bring water to a boil, then place the buds in a container and steam them for about ten to twelve minutes. Use high heat for the first five minutes, then switch to low heat. For storage, dry or bake the steamed buds afterward.

Daylily buds are a prized vegetable, with a sweet, smooth, and tender taste, and high nutritional value. They contain protein, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, and other nutrients. The iron content is about 20 times that of spinach, and they are rich in ascorbic acid.

Daylily buds have medicinal effects such as clearing heat and promoting urination. Eating daylily buds can calm the nerves, improve intelligence, and benefit eyesight. The pollen also helps regulate hormones.

There are many ways to eat daylily buds—they can be used in soups, noodle dishes, meat stews, and more.

Su Dongpo, the great literary figure of the Song Dynasty, once praised: “Do not say that farmers have no treasures; yellow flowers all over the ground are daylily buds.”

Chinese toon

Chinese toon is a deciduous tree that can grow over 30 meters tall. It belongs to the Meliaceae family and the Toona genus. What we commonly eat is its young sprouts and tender leaves. Analysis shows that every 100 grams of fresh toon sprouts contain 48 milligrams of vitamin C, as well as large amounts of protein, carbohydrates, carotene, and other nutrients, making them very nutritious. People wash the young sprouts and leaves, blanch them in boiling water, dice them, and often mix them with tofu, then add oil, salt, chili, etc., to make a delicious home-style side dish. Chinese toon can also be stir-fried with eggs or made into fried "toon fish," offering a richly aromatic and unique flavor. In addition, salt-preserved toon and toon pickles can be eaten all year round. The Shen Tou toon from Ling County, Shandong Province, is famous for its strong aroma and low fiber content.

Chinese toon is native to central China. It can now be found from southern Liaoning to Guangdong, Guangxi, as well as Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, with the largest cultivation in Hebei and Shandong. Chinese toon prefers sunlight and thrives in deep, fertile sandy soil. Propagation is done through sowing, division, and root cutting methods.

Dragon tendon vegetable

A type of dried vegetable from the south, which can be soaked and then stir-fried with meat. It is high in fiber and promotes urination.