People are so strange and indifferent to this land. The grass planted in the heart will never grow again. Maybe many years later, my child asked me about weeds when I was a child, and I couldn't answer it for a long time. I can't share this classic vegetation with them anymore. ...
I. Grass related to villages
Speaking of grass in my hometown, I find it very interesting.
Listen to those names, how like the elders in the village. Mai Jiagong, does he look like his second uncle who lives by the west river in the village? Mai Jiagong looks a bit like a noodle dish, but his bones are ok and he is strong together. It was just not delicious, so it was stopped by the villagers. Grandpa said that in the famine years, this Mai Jiagong can also eat. At that time, this kind of grass was a lifeline, but now it has been left out in the cold.
Ma Tang always thought it was not like a kind of grass, but like a person's name. Spring is coming. This man in the field is called Matang, and that man is also called Matang. Crying, crabgrass became a famous grass in the countryside. Sometimes I think this name is elegant, not too vulgar. Older people don't like to call it crabgrass, but like to call it cricket grass. I like this name. You think, in spring and summer, the crabgrass must be as thick as a clump. In the late autumn, crickets live under the grass, pitiful and happy, much like the saying "a scoop of food, a scoop of water, in an alley, people can't bear it, but they are worried. If they go back, they will not change their fun."
This grass, seeing the wanderer, is full of tears, looking at the distant home, so that it is blind, so it uses blind fruit to heal the wounds. A pot of soup can improve the eyesight, and only it can do it. In its hometown, it has a good reputation.
When I saw grass, I inexplicably thought of the word "poor". I think the poorest grass in my hometown should be ragweed, and many people will avoid it. It can cause allergic asthma and dermatitis. Destined to be unable to make friends with others, the fate can be imagined. Is people's consistent position on it.
In my hometown, the most common weed is Pennisetum, which has a straight waist and dense leaves and looks like a beauty. Moreover, the branches and leaves are not bloated, and a kind of temperament pervades the vegetation. It interprets human nature in plain, elegant and simple. It grows quietly and never leaves.
There is also a kind of grass, which I have to say, is called Geba grass in my hometown. It's thin, with a thin neck, but it's very elastic. It lies on the ground, grows whiskers on the branches and gets into the soil. It didn't look ordinary at first. In a few days, it will be green here. People like to twist this grass together and use it to bind the cut grass. It brought back most of the grass for cattle and sheep. In fact, the toughness of this grass is far less than that of beef tendon grass. In my hometown, Niujincao is the king of grass. Its leaves and stems are strong, and its roots are developed. If a person wants to pull it out of the ground, he will probably use the strength of sucking milk. So, in his hometown, no one wants to touch it. If it does not affect the growth of crops, most people will turn a blind eye.
Second, herbs related to Chinese medicine.
In my hometown, some grasses are ominous. For example, cat's eye, scientific name Zeqi, is like a person with big and small. It lives on land. This kind of grass has small leaves, but it is very toxic. On the plain, this kind of grass is lonely. Its neighbors are all human favorite objects, but they are left out in the cold. If you accidentally touch it, rub your eyes with this hand. There is no doubt that you will make a fool of yourself the next day, your eyes will swell and your face will be deformed. Nevertheless, we will carefully cut it, pile it together, and take it to the home of an old Chinese doctor in the village to exchange some oil and salt money.
Grass has a lot to do with Chinese medicine. There are many grasses in Chinese medicine, all of which are frequent visitors in my hometown. Xu Xu, the name reminds me of Bian Que, a wonderful doctor. This kind of grass dares to use the surname of an imperial doctor. Is it awesome? Cattle, in accordance with the force, can diuretic and treat jaundice. It is also diuretic, and there is also a kind of grass called plantain seed, also called plantain. In my hometown, plantain seeds are not popular. Only Chinese medicine practitioners in my village like it. It is said that there is a story in this grass, and the protagonist is Huo Qubing. I was very interested and urged him to go on. He said that when Huo Qubing went to war, people were too thirsty to pee, but the horse was fine. Finally, the horse was eating the grass in front, so it was called plantain and plantain seed, which has been called until now.
There are many grasses in my hometown to treat diseases. For example, a woman's leaves are small, her flowers are blue, and they are not big enough. At first glance, they are petty, but they tonify kidney and strengthen yang. No wonder when I was a child, two dogs in our village used this herb to make medicine. I don't understand when the villagers see that he often makes fun of him. Here, I found the source of laughing at him.
Euphorbia humifusa, very beautiful, with small leaves and red neck. Like a hermit, he lives in seclusion in the grass, silent and languishing on the earth. However, every year when I have dysentery, my mother often uses this grass to boil medicine for me. Grass grows quietly. But there are universities in the belly, and there are poetry books in the belly. When you say it, it is the motto of saving lives.
Rehmannia is a kind of grass. It is like a girl next door, quiet and beautiful. Its flowers are like lanterns and look like inverted clocks. Red and purple flowers are very beautiful. Rehmannia, in his hometown, enjoys worship. Rehmannia glutinosa needs to be ground into medicine if it is treated, which is more popular than Veronica.
Grass seems to be more closely related to women. Women are better at digging wild vegetables than men. However, the grass did not remember their evil, and still came back with a cavity of compassion. Wheat bottle grass and cowherb are both herbs for treating gynecological diseases. If women have irregular menstruation, they will think of these grasses. Wheat bottle grass, also known as the net bottle, sounds like the net bottle of Guanyin Bodhisattva, nourishing everything. The name Wang Liubuxing is very strange, but after giving birth, women don't give milk, which makes their families very anxious. Some elderly people rushed to the fields, dug up some Liu Wang and boiled water to take it.
There is a kind of grass called Datura, which sounds like Indian immigrants. The grass is big and the fruit is prickly, so people dare not touch it, prick their hands, and it will explode in a long time, just like a person with a hot temper, and it will get angry at once.
This grass is related to a happy doctor. This man is Hua tuo of the Three Kingdoms. He extracted leprosy powder from Datura stramonium. Since then, China's surgical skills have also improved a lot.
Three. Edible grass
In my hometown, "eating" is a lofty word.
Henan is a land of suffering. Eating is life. In my hometown, women hold the power of the stove. They like to dig out and eat wild vegetables. Perhaps, I grew up in the wild, and I am not a person who can't tell the difference between grains, but I still find it difficult to tell the difference between wild vegetables.
In my hometown, there is a kind of grass called gray-gray vegetables, whose leaves are white and edible, but I have always confused it with green amaranth. Later, I learned that green amaranth is a good wild vegetable with large leaves and hypertrophy. There is also a kind of wild vegetable, which is very similar to green amaranth. There is almost no difference in size and shape, but the leaves are reddish, and later it was known as concave amaranth. After blanching these two kinds of wild vegetables with hot water, it is better to add salt, soy sauce and cold salad.
Although they are all amaranth, there is a grass that is different from them. Can't eat. It's called amaranth, and my hometown is called blood bag tree. If my hand is scratched, pick a leaf of amaranth, rub it and put it in the bleeding place, which will stop the bleeding soon.
In my hometown, purslane is the most eaten wild vegetable. Although it is sour, the leaves are thick and enjoyable to eat. It has nine lives and is a cat in plants. Sunburn won't kill you. Even if you are dying, as long as you see a drop of rain, you will be resurrected immediately. Later, I learned that this weed is related to immortals. After the easy shooting day, only Sun was left hiding under the purslane. It was awarded meritorious service for its rescue.
There is a wild vegetable in my hometown called plantagenet, which is a giant among weeds. The seedlings are edible, and the pot can be steamed and cooled. When you get old, it's not useless. Tie it with wire, it is a good broom. The yard is clean and messy, so it depends on it.
Its fruit, Kochia scoparia, is a beautiful name. You are full of fairy tales when you hear the name. It seems to be at the same level as Zhenyuanzi in Journey to the West.
Blossom, that's a good name. I like eating it. My hometown calls it auricularia auricula. Its leaves are thick and hard, and its dishes are delicious. Its fruit is purple, similar to nightshade, but larger than nightshade. Speaking of Solanum nigrum, some people may not know who it is. In the eastern Henan plain, if it is sweet beans, most people will drool, so how can this fruit be called "sweet"?
Speaking of edible fruits, there is also a kind of grass. You see, there is sour pulp hidden in this land, also called running grass, which is unknown, just like ordinary people. Its fruit is light yellow, and the entrance is that kind of sour feeling. There are few wild fruits in my hometown. It is exciting to see this sour pulp.
I like abutilon, its leaves are wide and big, and my mother often wraps the leaven head with it and puts it on the south wall to dry. Its fruit, like a closed lotus, is tightly held together. The seeds are white and can be eaten. When the seed turns black, it means it is old and yellow.
There is a dazzling grass that is similar to strawberries in leaves and fruits. My hometown calls it snake berry, and its fruit is red, much like a woman with red lips and flames, tempting people in hundreds of plants. I don't know if I can eat it or dare to taste it. It is said that it is edible and has the effect of detumescence and detoxification.
In my hometown, people are always afraid of colorful things, such as mushrooms, which are brightly colored and mostly poisonous. No one dares to learn from the Shennong family and taste it alone.
Writing here, my hometown suddenly became clear.
In my memory, it thrives like a weed. Wildfire never devours them, and they grow taller in the spring breeze.
Cao Wensheng, 1982, a native of Qixian County, Henan Province, now lives in Luochuan, Shaanxi Province. His works are scattered in magazines such as Shanxi Literature, Times Literature, Years, Red Bean, Yan 'an Literature, Star Poetry, Henan Poet and Shaanxi Poetry.