This kind of tree lives and dies on its own in China, but the Japanese regard it as a treasure that farmers earn thousands of yuan a month by picking leaves.

The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching. In the mountainous areas of Shaanxi and Henan provinces in China, the leaves of a kind of shrub tree begin to give off a fragrance. Local farmers begin to meet in twos and threes to go up the mountain to "beat leaves." the leaves are taken home to make dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival. The leaves of this kind of tree are broad and tough. After picking them, the farmers boil them in boiling water to remove the astringent taste, and then they can wrap zongzi or put them in a steamer with steamed buns, which has a refreshing smell. This kind of tree was ignored in the past, growing in the mountains to fend for itself, and no one cares about it. Now its status is "bamboo blossoms are getting higher and higher". What's going on?

This kind of tree is called mistletoe, and its leaves are treasured by the Japanese. In Japanese tradition, mistletoe leaves represent longevity, and many exquisite cakes are packed with mistletoe leaves. The Japanese love to eat "Heguo (pastry made of glutinous rice)", which is wrapped in mistletoe leaves on the Dragon Boat Festival. It is a favorite delicacy for every household, with a good blessing. As Japan has few mistletoe trees and most of them rely on imports, China is rich in mistletoe resources and exports a large number of mistletoe leaves to Japan every year.

So mistletoe, which was previously unnoticed, has suddenly become a "hot cake". Every year, from April to May of the lunar calendar, mistletoe leaves are the most prosperous season. In the mountains of western Henan, the whole family went to fight mistletoe leaves, graded them according to the size of the leaves, and then sent them to the local processing plant to sell. Industrious people can earn thousands of yuan by picking leaves in April, which is quite good. Through a series of procedures such as deep processing of mistletoe leaves, sterilization, disinfection, de-astringency and so on, the local processing plants are packed into boxes and exported abroad.

The old man in the countryside said that after the mistletoe leaf elder, there is a smell of rice, just like it is made for wrapping rice dumplings. Zongzi wrapped in mistletoe leaves, the local people from snacks to big, so many people to other places, are not accustomed to using Reed leaves wrapped zongzi. Mistletoe leaves are not only fragrant, but also have medicinal value. Tang Materia Medica commented on it in this way: "it tastes sweet and bitter, flat and non-toxic." the main hemorrhoids, hemostasis, blood dysentery, thirst. "

Readers, have you ever eaten zongzi wrapped in mistletoe leaves?