What are the benefits and effects of bitter chrysanthemum greens? Introduction to planting time and methods

Bitter chrysanthemum greens are the tender leaves of the chicory plant (Cichorium endivia), a perennial herb that serves as both food and medicine. Below is an introduction to the benefits and effects of bitter chrysanthemum greens, as well as their planting time and methods. The medicinal name of bitter chrysanthemum greens is Patrinia scabiosaefolia, with alternative names including maidenflower, deer intestine horse grass. In folk usage it is commonly called bitter vegetable, with other names such as heavenly coriander, bitter lettuce, sweet horse vegetable, old stork vegetable, no-coriander, etc. Because its leaves resemble a snake shape, in Shandong it is also called snake worm sprout. The taste is sweet with a slight bitterness, and it can be stir-fried or served cold. To serve cold, first trim and wash the bitter vegetable, blanch it briefly in water, drain and let cool, mince ginger and garlic, add a little salt, chicken essence, sesame oil, white sugar, rice vinegar and chili oil, mix well and plate. It has antibacterial, fever-reducing, anti-inflammatory, and eyesight-improving effects.

[Benefits of bitter vegetable]

Bitter vegetable is bitter and cold in nature, with effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, and cooling the blood. It is used to treat dysentery, jaundice, blood strangury, hemorrhoids and fistula, and boils. “Southern Yunnan Materia Medica” records: “It cools blood heat, chills the stomach, disperses accumulated masses in the abdomen, and promotes urination.” “Compendium of Materia Medica” records: “Treats blood strangury and hemorrhoid rash.” Those with deficient cold of spleen and stomach should avoid eating it.

1. Blood-nourishing health care: Bitter vegetable is rich in carotene, vitamin C, potassium salts, calcium salts, etc., and has a good effect on preventing and treating anemia, maintaining normal physiological activities of the human body, and relieving summer heat and promoting health.

2. Clearing heat and detoxifying: Bitter vegetable contains components such as taraxasterol and choline, with a strong bactericidal effect, and has certain therapeutic effects on icteric hepatitis, pharyngitis, bacillary dysentery, cold with fever, chronic bronchitis, tonsillitis, etc.

3. Cancer prevention: The water decoction of bitter vegetable significantly inhibits blood cell deoxygenase in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute and chronic myeloid leukemia, and can also be used to prevent cervical cancer, rectal cancer, and anal cancer.

[Effects of bitter vegetable]

Bitter vegetable, also known as bitter lettuce, heavenly coriander, etc., grows wild in most regions of China. During the Long March, the Red Army often used bitter vegetable to stave off hunger, and it was later hailed as the “life-saving vegetable” and “Long March vegetable.” Because of its bitter taste, it has the effect of stimulating appetite and aiding digestion. In fact, the effects of bitter vegetable go beyond this.

The medicinal use of bitter vegetable is recorded in many ancient medical texts. “Shennong's Materia Medica” says: “Bitter vegetable governs evil qi of the five viscera, aversion to grain and stomach blockage.” “Southern Yunnan Materia Medica” holds that bitter vegetable “cools blood heat, chills the stomach, disperses all accumulations in the abdomen, and promotes urination.” Traditional Chinese medicine believes that bitter vegetable is cold in nature, with effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, breaking blood stasis and invigorating blood, and discharging pus. It can treat appendicitis, abdominal abscess, enteritis, dysentery, acute pelvic inflammation, lung-heat cough, pulmonary tuberculosis, vomiting blood, nosebleed, traumatic injury, traumatic injury, sores, boils and carbuncles, impetigo, and scrotal eczema, etc. Australian scientists once conducted an experiment: sarcoma was inoculated into the thigh muscle of mice, and one week later, an extract of bitter vegetable was injected subcutaneously; after 48 hours the mice were killed, and both naked-eye and microscopic observation showed obvious bleeding and necrosis of the sarcoma, proving that bitter vegetable extract has an anti-tumor effect. Although bitter vegetable is a bitter wild vegetable, it is rich in nutrients, containing various vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, etc. needed by the human body. It can be stir-fried, served cold, used as filling, made into soup, or processed into canned wild vegetable and pickled sour vegetable.

Promoting development: The tender leaves of bitter vegetable contain a complete range of amino acids, and the proportions among the various amino acids are appropriate. Eating bitter vegetable helps promote the synthesis of antibodies in the human body, enhance immunity, and promote brain function. The rich iron in bitter vegetable helps prevent anemia, various inorganic salts and trace elements help children's growth and development, and various vitamins can promote wound healing and prevent vitamin deficiency.

Clears heat, cools blood, detoxifies. Treats dysentery, jaundice, blood strangury, hemorrhoids and fistula, boils, snake bites.

① “Ben Jing”: Governs evil qi of the five viscera, aversion to grain and stomach blockage.

② “Bie Lu”: Treats intestinal disorders, thirst, heat diseases, and malignant sores.

③ “Rihua Zi Materia Medica”: Applied for snake bites.

④ “Materia Medica Yanyi”: When broken, a white milky juice exudes; frequently applying it makes warts fall off on their own.

⑤ “Southern Yunnan Materia Medica”: Cools blood heat, chills the stomach, disperses all accumulations in the abdomen, and promotes urination.

Cools blood heat, chills the stomach, disperses all accumulations in the abdomen, and promotes urination

⑥ “Bencao Huibian”: Improves eyesight, governs various dysenteries.

⑦ “Gangmu”: Treats blood strangury and hemorrhoid fistula.

⑧ “Yilin Zuanyao”: Clears the heart and relieves summer heat, removes heat and eliminates restlessness, and promotes lactation.

[Cultivation techniques]

Bitter vegetable, also called jimaicai, is a perennial wild vegetable that people enjoy eating. It not only has high nutritional value but also has medical effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying. Bitter vegetable is highly adaptable and can grow in fields and along roadsides. If cultivated artificially in plastic greenhouses, it can be marketed 40--50 days earlier than in open fields, and the yield per mu can reach more than 1000 kg.

1. Sowing time: The suitable sowing period for greenhouse cultivation of bitter vegetable is from late July to mid-August. If too late, the seedlings are small, their cold and drought resistance is low, and the yield decreases. Since bitter vegetable seeds have no dormant period, they can be sown and produced in the same year they are collected. For the first planting, wild bitter vegetable seeds can be collected.

2. Sowing method: To favor the growth of bitter vegetable, choose loose and fertile plots for sowing. Before sowing, plow deeply and harrow finely. While preparing the land, apply 3000 kg of organic fertilizer per mu, then make beds according to the greenhouse area. Generally the bed width is 1 m, and 7 small furrows 8 cm deep are opened on the bed surface with a furrow spacing of 12 cm. Water thoroughly to the bottom, and after the water seeps in, sow the seeds in the furrows and cover the furrows level with fine soil. Cover the bed surface with plastic film for warmth, and add straw mats over the film to prevent sunlight and high temperature from affecting germination. Generally the sowing rate is 3 g per square meter.

3. Field management: Seedlings emerge 7--8 days after sowing. The root system of newly emerged seedlings is fine and weak, so keep the soil moist by spraying water to prevent drought and seedling death. After watering for 2--3 days, loosen the soil in time, which can both inhibit soil moisture evaporation and promote root growth. Weeds are the main factor affecting the normal growth of seedlings, so they should be pulled out at any time. After the Beginning of Autumn, the weather becomes cool, and bitter vegetable grows vigorously. To promote thick roots and accumulate more nutrients, apply one topdressing of dilute manure together with irrigation, 1000 kg per mu.

4. Second-year management

Covering the greenhouse: To bring bitter vegetable to market early and avoid frost damage, generally the film is put on the greenhouse in early to mid-March. After the soil thaws, rake away dead leaves and weeds on the ground. When the soil 5 cm below the surface reaches 4--5°C, bitter vegetable begins to sprout new buds and turn green.

Fertilizer and water: If there is little snow in winter and soil moisture is poor, irrigate once 3--5 days after turning green, with enough to soak through 15 cm of soil. Too much water will lower the ground temperature and affect growth. Afterward, according to soil conditions, irrigating 1--2 times before harvest can meet the needs. Bitter vegetable is mainly grown for its leaves and requires more nitrogen. To obtain high yield, apply one foliar topdressing at the 2--3 leaf stage, spraying a 0.5% urea solution.

Humidity: Bitter vegetable likes cool climatic conditions, and too high a temperature in the greenhouse is not good for growth, so when the greenhouse temperature reaches 25°C, ventilate and cool in time to ensure the temperature is around 20°C. When the leaves grow to more than 4 cm, they can be harvested and marketed.

Through the above explanation, everyone should now know the relevant knowledge about the benefits and effects of bitter chrysanthemum greens, and still need to understand bitter chrysanthemum greens more and better, and then apply it to our daily diet therapy.