Cold mixed wild heartleaf houttuynia

Cold mixed wild heartleaf houttuynia

　　Heartleaf houttuynia, also known as fish mint, is the dried aerial part of Houttuynia cordata, a perennial herbaceous plant from the Saururaceae family. It is produced in provinces south of the Yangtze River basin in China. It is recorded in the "Supplement to the Materia Medica." Tang Dynasty’s Su Song said: it grows in wetlands and can also creep in the shade of valleys. Its leaves are plump like buckwheat, and the stems are purplish-red. People in the Jiangnan region prefer to eat it raw, while those in the Guanzhong area call it “zucài” (pickled vegetable). The leaves have a fishy smell, hence the common name: fish mint.