Can the common roadside green foxtail be eaten, and what are the benefits of drinking it as an infusion?
Everyone should be familiar with green foxtail, it can be seen everywhere in fields and along roadsides, it feels fuzzy to the touch, and as children we loved playing with it. Now the question arises: can green foxtail be eaten? The answer is of course yes! Despite looking unremarkable, it is actually a valuable Chinese herbal medicine.
Green foxtail, also known as guangmingcao, is an annual herbaceous plant with upright, slender stems reaching over one chi in height, and slender leaves whose lower parts form sheaths surrounding the stem. In time, green foxtail also flowers, but its flowers differ from ordinary flowers; they are also green, a cylindrical type of flower, forming a spike at the top of the stem, with awns, shaped like a dog's tail, which is how green foxtail got its name.
Generally speaking, green foxtail is a plant that cattle, donkeys, horses and sheep love to eat. Whether old, tender, fresh or dried, it is a very good livestock feed.
A clever netizen made green foxtail into the Japanese dish tempura (the general term for fried food in Japanese cuisine), which sparked heated discussion among many netizens. Later, because his throat was stung painfully by the awns, the netizen who tried it gave up on the last three pieces. This incident reminds everyone that green foxtail is indeed not suitable for eating.
Although it cannot be eaten directly, green foxtail still has certain medicinal value. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that green foxtail is sweet and neutral in nature, with the effects of clearing heat and draining dampness, clearing the liver and brightening the eyes, and promoting urination and detoxification. It can be used for the treatment of wind-heat cold, painful urination, red and painful eyes, red and swollen eyes, conjunctivitis, reduced vision, difficult urination, and so on.
Usage and dosage
Internal use: decocted in water, 2 to 4 qian (1 to 2 liang if fresh).
External use: wash with the decoction or pound and apply.
However, the method circulating online of soaking green foxtail in water and drinking it currently has no scientific basis, so it is best not to try it blindly.