This thing was eaten just to fill the belly when we were too poor in childhood; now it has become a rare treasure, and it is estimated that money cannot buy it.

When we were children we were so poor that we could only use this thing to fill our bellies; now it has become a rare treasure, and it is estimated that even money will not help.

When I was little, because I lived in a poor and remote rural village, and because at that time we had not mastered scientific methods for growing corn and had no money to buy fertilizer, corn was planted all over the hills, but when harvest time came the yield was astonishingly low. There was not enough grain to eat, so we could only find some substitutes to satisfy hunger and fill our bellies.

Well, this thing is exactly the food ingredient we often dug up to fill our bellies when we were children. This thing is called canna. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, with single leaves arranged alternately; it has sheath-like leaf stalks; the leaf blades are ovate-oblong. The inflorescence is a raceme, and the flowers are solitary or opposite. This plant contains rich connotations and has deep historical roots. As for its name, there is such a beautiful legend.

It is said that long ago, several fairy maidens who could not bear loneliness lived in the Heavenly Court and secretly left the palace. When they turned their gaze to the Changtan area, they could not help sighing: what beautiful mountains and rivers! They decided to go down to the mortal world for a visit. The fairy maidens pressed down on the clouds and happened to land by the Changtan River. Each broke off a branch and shook it into a paddle; each picked a leaf and breathed on it to make a boat. Leisurely and carefree, they rowed and played, singing and laughing, which attracted the aquatic creatures in the pool to float up and watch, full of envy.

After midnight, they abandoned their boats and went ashore. Following the mountain path, they walked into Yixiantian, where they saw a flying waterfall pouring straight down and water as clear as a mirror, so beautiful that it was beyond description. The fairy maidens could not help themselves, took off their outer garments, and one by one jumped into the pool, chasing each other and playing in the water. Mountain birds chirped, and day had already broken. The fairy maidens could no longer return to the Heavenly Court, so they turned into graceful and slender cannas, as if forever smiling to welcome guests from all directions.

Such a beautiful legend is full of mysterious color. But in those years, it was merely a root used to satisfy hunger. At that time, our usual way of eating it was to dig up the canna tubers, wash them, and stew them; the taste had a hint of sweetness. At the same time, its stems, leaves, and roots can all be used as medicine.

In the past, the hills in my hometown were covered with it, and people merely used it as something to keep themselves alive. Now it has instead become a rare commodity, and today some people find it difficult even to find it for medicine, let alone eat it. Some city people and wealthy people, in pursuit of this wild mountain product, have failed to get what they wanted. People say that money can make the devil turn the mill. But to eat this thing, it is estimated that even money will not help!