A roadside weed that looks like green bamboo, 10 yuan per jin, toss it into a flower pot and it grows into a patch

It is a weed that loves growing by roadsides and the edges of farmland; we call it jiejiecao (horsetail), and it looks a bit like green bamboo, with visible joints along the stem, and what is especially interesting is that its "branches" can be pulled out joint by joint and then put back joint by joint, which is really fun.

Jiejiecao is quite unremarkable, and it often grows in large patches; though it is a weed, it is also a Chinese medicinal herb, with the effects of dispelling wind and dissipating heat, stopping bleeding and reducing swelling. Generally, when Chinese medicine buyers purchase jiejiecao, it can sell for 10 yuan per jin after being dried in the sun.

As a child, I loved using jiejiecao as a toy; you could just pull a handful from the roadside and hold it in your hand to play with for half a day. Now, planting jiejiecao in a flower pot turns out to be quite beautiful too; toss it into a pot and it grows into a patch, with very much the habits of a wild grass, coming to life as soon as it touches soil.

Jiejiecao has strong adaptability to soil, climate and environment. It generally grows about 50 cm tall and is very suitable for digging up for pot cultivation. It likes shady and damp environments, so water it regularly during the growing period. Apart from appropriate shading in summer, it can be kept in full sun on a balcony in the other seasons.

In this season, you can find plenty of it outside. You can dig out a whole clump, divide it into several small plantlets, plant them in flower pots, firm the soil after planting and water thoroughly once; they are very easy to keep alive.

Some jiejiecao may grow taller than 50 cm, reaching about 1 m. We can tie the upper part together with string to make a pretty little braid. It is just that when winter comes and the temperature gets too low, its plant will wither, but that does not matter; cut off the withered branches, and when the temperature rises again it will sprout and grow anew.