Suzhou Arrowhead

Suzhou Arrowhead

　　Arrowhead is also one of Suzhou’s famous “Eight Aquatic Delicacies.” What a lovely name it has. The Ming Dynasty physician Li Shizhen said, “One arrowhead plant produces twelve tubers a year, as if a loving mother nurses her many children—how tender and kind. Its leaves fork like a swallow’s tail, which is also why it’s called that.” In other words, each arrowhead plant yields twelve tubers from its root, just like a young mother lovingly nurturing her many children—how nurturing it is. Arrowhead is also known as ci gu, ci gu, white chestnut, or swallowtail herb.

　　 Suzhou’s Loufeng area has a long history of arrowhead cultivation. Originally grown in villages such as Qunli, Fenghong, Fengtang, Tuanjie, Jinshe, 214, and Jinhu, it is also cultivated in the water network regions of Xietang and Chefang. The main variety grown in Loufeng is “Suzhou Yellow.” The top choice is “Suzhou Yellow” arrowhead, which is known for its yellow skin, large size, white flesh, and fragrant, sticky texture. It is considered a famous high-yield and premium-quality arrowhead variety in Jiangsu Province.

　　 The Song Dynasty scholar Su Song once described arrowhead as follows: “The stem of the scissors grass is dark green, with over ten stems per clump, branching upward and blooming with four-petaled white flowers and deep yellow stamens. The tubers range from as big as apricots to as small as chestnuts. The edible part is the swollen tip of the creeping underground stem, with up to ten or more tubers per plant. The tubers are slightly toxic in their natural state, but through long-term cultivation and improvement, they have become edible and are used as a vegetable. According to elderly farmers, the number of tubers an arrowhead plant bears follows a certain pattern: usually twelve per plant in a normal year, but thirteen in a leap year. This phenomenon is also recorded in the ancient text Erya Yi: ‘In a leap year, the arrowhead bears thirteen tubers.’ So, a leap year must be a bountiful year for arrowheads.”

　　 Arrowhead is grown either as a sole crop or intercropped. Generally, after the Qingming Festival, the top buds along with some flesh of the arrowhead are cut off, covered with damp straw to encourage sprouting, and they germinate in 10–15 days. Then they are transplanted and cultivated in seedling fields, and transplanted or intercropped into main fields from late May to early June. The growth period of arrowhead is about 190–200 days, and it can be harvested from the Beginning of Winter to March of the following year, with a yield of up to 800 kilograms per mu. Arrowhead stores and transports well, making it a major aquatic vegetable on the market during winter and spring.

　　 Arrowhead is rich in nutrition, containing protein, fat, carbohydrates, inorganic salts, vitamin B, vitamin C, choline, betaine, and more. Arrowhead is commonly used as a vegetable and can be cooked into various delicious dishes such as “Garlic Stir-Fried Arrowhead Slices,” “Arrowhead Stir-Fried Pork Slices,” “Arrowhead Stir-Fried Chicken Cubes,” and “Arrowhead Mushroom Old Duck Pot.” Because arrowhead has a slightly bitter taste, dishes made with it have a unique flavor. As soon as arrowhead hits the market, many food companies purchase it to produce seasonal snacks such as “Deep-Fried Arrowhead Chips,” which are golden, crispy, and loved by many. Cooked arrowhead, when peeled and dipped in sugar as a snack, offers another delightful taste.

　　 Arrowhead is also a medicinal plant. Compendium of Materia Medica records: “Arrowhead tastes sweet and is cold in nature. It treats a wide range of poisons, difficult childbirth where the placenta does not emerge—grind it into juice and drink it. Its leaves treat many types of sores, swelling, and pediatric erysipelas—crush and apply them to the affected area to reduce inflammation. They can also treat snake and insect bites—crush and rub on the wound. Mixed with clam powder, it relieves itching and clears heat rash.”