The efficacy of Xianghe

Xianghe is a rhizome, which can be eaten as a stir-fried dish. Add some chili and stir-fry it, and it can be served in a few minutes. Regarding the taste of Xianghe, some people think it has a light fragrance and tastes delicious, but some people think that Xianghe is too fragrant as a vegetable, and it tastes like grass in the mouth and has no taste. So what are the effects and functions of freshly picked Xianghe?

Xianghe is the rhizome of the ginger plant lotus. Xianghe is a perennial herb that prefers warm, shady and humid environment to grow. It has a special fragrance and is suitable for growing in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the areas to its south.

60 to 90 cm high. The rhizome is thick, cylindrical, light yellow, and the roots are thick and numerous. Leaves are alternate in 2 rows, narrowly elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, 25-35 cm long, 3-6 cm wide, pointed at apex, gradually narrowed at base, or short-petiolate, glabrous above, sparsely covered with fine hairs below, or nearly glabrous, with midrib thick, lateral veins pinnate, nearly parallel; with leaf sheaths, clasping the stem, and ligule 2-lobed, 1 cm long.

The spike inflorescence grows from the rhizome, is stalked, 6 to 9 cm long, with scales arranged in a shingle-like manner, ovate-elliptic, outer bracts elliptic, inner lanceolate, and membranous; the flowers are large, light yellow or white; the calyx is tubular, 2.5 to 3 cm long, and splits in a comb-shaped manner; the corolla is tubular, with lanceolate lobes, the lip is obovate, and there is a small lobe on each side of the base; there is one stamen, and the anther chamber extends outward into a long beak; there are two staminodes; and the ovary is inferior.

The capsule is oval, cracks when ripe, and the inside of the peel is bright red. The seeds are black or dark brown with a white or gray-brown aril. Flowering period is summer. It grows under the shade of mountain trees or beside ditches, and is distributed in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Guizhou, Sichuan and other places.

It is a perennial herb of the genus Zingiberaceae, whose young shoots, young stems and flower axes are edible, and has both edible and medicinal value.

Production Instructions:

1. Xianghe is incompatible with iron.

2. To treat finger inflammation: add a little salt to the lotus rhizome, mash it and apply it externally.

3. To treat cervical lymph node tuberculosis: 2 liang of fresh rhizome of Xianghe and 1 liang of fresh rhizome of Belamcanda chinensis, decocted in water and taken orally.

4. To treat sores in the throat, mouth and tongue: soak lotus root in wine for half a day, and gargle with the juice.

5. To treat sudden loss of voice and inability to speak due to choking: crush lotus root, mix with wine, squeeze and drink the juice.

Dietary effects:

Xianghe is pungent in taste and warm in nature;

It has the effects of promoting blood circulation and regulating menstruation, relieving cough and expectorant, reducing swelling and detoxifying.

It is mainly used to treat irregular menstruation in women, cough in the elderly, sores, scrofula, red eyes and throat congestion.

Residents of Putian, Fujian cut lotus leaves into circles and place freshly made red dumplings on them. After steaming, it has a pleasant aroma and has certain medicinal effects.