Is willow wormwood sprout the same as mugwort? The benefits and ways to eat this perennial herb
Willow wormwood sprout, also known as willow wormwood greens, water wormwood, and white wormwood, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family, and its tender stems and leaves are edible. It grows in riverside wetlands and other such places, and because it is rich in vitamins and various trace elements, it is widely used to make fillings, soups, and more. So, is willow wormwood sprout mugwort leaf? What benefits and effects does it have? How do you eat it?
Willow wormwood sprout is a wild vegetable unique to the north, mainly growing beneath willow trees, and mostly along both banks of rivers, around ponds, and in low-lying, easily waterlogged places. At the same time, willows basically share the same living habits as willow wormwood, and where there are willows, there is also a lot of willow wormwood. That is why people call this kind of wormwood "willow wormwood."
Mugwort, on the other hand, grows all over the hills. Mid-May on the solar calendar is exactly the time when all kinds of wild vegetables come to the table. Because willow wormwood sprout has a special odor, it is generally just blanched in water and eaten with sauce, while in Northeast China mugwort is not suitable for eating; it is mostly picked in the early morning of the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, then hung on the eaves or on doors and windows, along with several strings of bright red gourds. It symbolizes good fortune. Mugwort has high medicinal value; for example, for welts that appear after exposure to wind, mugwort water can be boiled and used to wash the skin. In May, mugwort is fragrant, and every household is busy at the Dragon Boat Festival.
Benefits and effects:
Willow wormwood sprout has the therapeutic effects of strengthening the spleen and reducing internal heat, detoxifying and reducing inflammation, breaking blood stasis and promoting circulation, and directing qi downward to unblock the collaterals. It can also lower blood pressure, lower blood lipids, nourish the liver and strengthen the stomach, clear heat and detoxify and reduce inflammation, and promote hair growth. In folk medicine it is often used to treat infectious hepatitis, high blood pressure, cancer, and other diseases. Willow wormwood has a detoxifying effect; when boiled together with pufferfish, it can eliminate the toxicity of the pufferfish.
It was recorded as early as in the Book of Songs and the Compendium of Materia Medica, so it is a wild vegetable used both as medicine and as food. It is not only delicious and tasty, but can also lower blood pressure, lower blood lipids, nourish the liver and strengthen the stomach, clear heat and detoxify and reduce inflammation, help with slimming and lightening the body, and promote hair growth. In folk medicine it is often used to treat infectious hepatitis, high blood pressure, cancer, and other diseases.
The medicinal value of willow wormwood sprout is still worthy of recognition. In fact, willow wormwood sprout can not only be stir-fried, dipped in sauce, or used as filling, but can also be dried and steeped in water to drink.
How do you eat it?
1. Eat it dipped in sauce: Clean the picked willow wormwood sprout, bring water to a boil in a pot, add the willow wormwood sprout, blanch it briefly, then remove it and put it into cool water in a basin. Drain the water and it is ready to eat dipped in sauce.
2. Make dumplings: Blanch the willow wormwood sprout briefly in boiling water, remove it and put it into cool water (be sure to blanch the willow wormwood sprout only very briefly, do not overdo it), then remove it, drain the water, chop it finely with a knife, and add it to pork filling. This kind of flavored dumpling is both fresh and bright and has a natural flavor. It is something many people have never tasted.
Mugwort grows on hillsides, in forests, or among hills, and its living habits differ from those of willow wormwood, so they are not the same plant. I hope everyone will not confuse them. Share this short article so that everyone can clearly distinguish that willow wormwood sprout and mugwort are not the same plant.