What Plant Are Grass Jelly Seeds From? Get to Know Their True Identity

Everyone knows grass jelly, but few people know what plant grass jelly seeds come from. In fact, grass jelly seeds are also very common and can be found in most regions. Let's take a look at grass jelly seeds together.

1. What are grass jelly seeds?

Grass jelly seeds are actually also called climbing fig (Ficus pumila), also known as grass jelly seed, wood lotus, and so on. It is a climbing or creeping shrub with two types of leaves; adventitious roots grow on the nodes of non-fruiting branches, and the leaves are ovate-cordate. It is produced in Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu, Taiwan, China, and other places. The achenes can be washed in water to make grass jelly, and the vines and leaves are used medicinally.

Whether in mountainous areas, hills, or plains, it grows wild in moist and fertile soil, mostly climbing on old trees and large trees around villages, at the foot of mountains, in mountain hollows, as well as along river sandbars and both sides of roads, and on broken walls, old stone bridges, courtyard walls, and so on. Climbing fig tolerates poor soil, resists drought, has no strict soil requirements, and is highly adaptable; young plants are shade-tolerant. Climbing fig has edible value and landscape value; it can be made into grass jelly and has high ornamental value.

2. Are grass jelly seeds seaweed seeds?

People who have seen grass jelly seeds definitely remember them, because grass jelly seeds look very much like seaweed seeds. In particular, women who often use seaweed seeds for face masks will think, upon seeing grass jelly seeds, that grass jelly seeds and seaweed seeds are the same. So, are grass jelly seeds seaweed seeds?

In fact, grass jelly seeds are seaweed seeds. Grass jelly seeds also have other names: ice jelly seeds, papaya seeds, domestically produced seaweed seeds, and so on. If, when buying, you find that some are called seaweed seeds and some are called grass jelly seeds, do not worry; these two things are the same.

3. Are grass jelly seeds good for the body?

The grass jelly we usually eat is not harmful to the human body. Eating grass jelly in summer relieves heat and quenches thirst; eating grass jelly hot in winter with plenty of chili can also dispel cold. Making grass jelly with grass jelly seeds requires no added substances, so it is beneficial and not harmful to the human body.

Ordinary grass jelly, however, requires the addition of an appropriate amount of alum during processing, and alum has the effect of slowing gastrointestinal peristalsis. Eating grass jelly with alcohol will prolong the time alcohol stays in the stomach and intestines, thereby increasing the body's absorption of alcohol. At the same time, it also increases the stimulation of alcohol on the stomach and intestines, slows blood flow speed, prolongs the time alcohol stays in the blood, makes people more likely to get drunk, and harms health. Therefore, eating too much grass jelly is harmful to the human body.

If you want to use grass jelly seeds to make grass jelly, it is still rather troublesome. If you want to make grass jelly, it is still recommended to buy grass jelly directly from the market or buy powdered ingredients.