Erhai Lake seaweed

Erhai Lake seaweed

　　A type of green algae aquatic plant, native to Erhai Lake in Dali. The Qing Dynasty’s Jiāqìng-era *Plant Names and Realities Illustrated* by Wu Qirui states: “Seaweed grows in the waters of Yunnan, with long stems and leaves. The leaves resemble those of plantain but are larger, all submerged underwater. It produces long spikes with bracts, with over ten flowers in a single bract. When the flowers bloom, they rise above the water surface—three petals, white in color... People pick its stems and leaves to eat.” The seaweed’s stem is four to five feet long, soft and brittle, about the thickness of a rope. The stem produces flowers with bracts, each bearing four or five blooms, with four white petals, hence also called “seaweed flower.”

　　After being harvested from the lake, the seaweed is rinsed clean and cooked in a soup along with the flower bracts, stems, leaves, and taro. This dish is known as “seaweed taro soup,” which is refreshing and delicious, and is a famous local dish frequently enjoyed by the Bai people. Growing and floating on the surface of Erhai Lake, the seaweed is often used in Bai folk songs as a metaphor for a life of drifting: “The rootless grass of Dali’s lake, neither settling nor taking root,” referring to this very seaweed.