The former field bully has become a money tree for farmers, and its leaves are even a top-grade wild vegetable

In rural areas there are all kinds of wild grasses, and different wild grasses have different uses. Some wild grasses can be eaten as wild vegetables, some can be used as herbal medicine to treat illnesses, and some can also be used as feed to raise pigs, chickens and other poultry and livestock. But there are always some magical wild grasses that combine food, medicinal and feed uses in one, so wouldn't farmers all love this kind of wild grass? Most such wild grasses are indeed loved by farmers, but there is one wild grass that many farmers hated in the past. What wild grass is it?

I believe many farmers living in rural areas will recognize this wild grass. It grows rather strangely, especially after May arrives, when this wild grass blooms. Its flowers are very interesting, like a long animal tail, and the top of the flower looks like a rooster's comb. This wild grass is "Qingxiang" (feather cockscomb, Celosia argentea), also known among the people as caohao, qihao, Kunlun grass, hundred-day red, cockscomb amaranth, and cockscomb vegetable. By rights, such a beautiful wild grass should be very popular, but in the past it was deeply hated by farmers.

The reason is that Qingxiang is a "bully" in rural farmland. As for why it is a "bully", some farmers who grow crops probably know: Qingxiang is extremely tenacious, resistant to pests, strong at absorbing fertilizer, highly reproductive and widely distributed (it grows in farmland in most parts of our country), and it can grow in farmland of crops during various dry seasons. It is difficult to remove, so it often affects the growth and development of these crops and causes reduced yields. Therefore, in the past many farmers who grew crops quite disliked Qingxiang.

But although Qingxiang was a "bully" in rural areas in the past, today it is very popular with farmers, because its value is very high. The whole Qingxiang plant is a treasure. Its tender branches and leaves are a top-grade wild vegetable with rich nutritional value, and eating them can also have a health-preserving effect. In addition, the tender branches and leaves of Qingxiang can likewise be used as feed to raise pigs and other poultry and livestock.

The flowers, seeds, stems, leaves and roots of Qingxiang can all be used as medicine, and it has very good medicinal value. According to records, the flowers of Qingxiang have the effects of clearing the liver and cooling the blood, improving eyesight and removing cataracts, and can be used to treat conditions such as hematemesis, head wind, red eyes, bloody strangury, irregular menstruation and leukorrhea. The seeds have the effects of dispelling wind-heat and clearing liver fire, and can be used to treat conditions such as red, swollen and painful eyes, cataracts, high blood pressure and epistaxis. The stems, leaves and roots have the effects of drying dampness and clearing heat, stopping bleeding and killing insects, and can be used to treat conditions such as wind-heat with itchy body, scabies, hemorrhoids and bleeding from trauma.

It is precisely because the whole Qingxiang plant is a treasure and because it has characteristics such as strong vitality and pest resistance that many farmers take advantage of these characteristics to cultivate it, treating it as a "money tree", managing it extensively, and growing it with little worry. Moreover, according to what the author has learned, the price of Qingxiang is also relatively high; for example, Qingxiang seeds are 40 yuan per jin. So although Qingxiang was once a "bully" in rural fields and made farmers dislike it for a time, its value cannot be ignored.

Dear friends, do you know about Qingxiang? You are welcome to leave a message and share your thoughts!