Can you really be upright after drinking Huoxiang Zhengqi water?

It's time to rely on air conditioning to continue your life. In order to prevent heatstroke, I believe many people have had the shadow of childhood when they were pinch their nose with Huoxiang Zhengqi lotion.

However, if you take the composition table of patchouli Zhengqi water for reading and understanding, you will make an amazing discovery: just like an old woman without a wife in a cake, there is no patchouli in the water-only "patchouli oil" (but at least it is related to patchouli).

Childhood shadow Huoxiang Zhengqi water, a mouthful of water immediately feel upright. Picture: pttnews.cc

True and false "patchouli", silly can not tell the difference

Patchouli and patchouli are not only similar in name, but also belong to Labiatae. Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) is a perennial herb or semi-shrub of the genus Pogostemon of Labiatae. It is native to tropical Asia, including Southeast Asia and India. The English name Patchouli of patchouli is from the 19th century Tamil pacc?uli.

Today, patchouli is widely cultivated in the tropics of Asia, Africa and America. Although patchouli likes the tropics, it doesn't like direct sunlight. Warm and humid climate, fertile and well-drained soil, and half-light environment are the most suitable for patchouli to grow. Patchouli is tenacious in its vitality and can be picked many times a year. If it dries up because of lack of water, as long as it rains or pours some water, it will soon recover.

Like many other plants in the Labiatae, patchouli grows like a casual weed. Patchouli plants are generally 0.3 to 1 meter tall and have fine villi all over the body.

Patchouli plant. Picture: frozenseeds.com

The stems of Labiatae plants are mostly quadrangular, but the old stems of patchouli are more round. Patchouli leaves are thick, round or oval, opposite, with obtuse teeth.

Chubby leaves. Picture: motherearthliving.com

In late autumn, patchouli will produce small purple or lavender flowers with strong aroma; the seeds are ovate and slightly flat, which can be used to sow seeds, but the seeds are very fragile and easily damaged, so cuttings are generally used to propagate.

Little lavender flowers. Picture: Val é rie75 / wikimedia

As for Agastache rugosa, which is more commonly heard of, it belongs to the genus Agastache of Labiatae. The plant is slightly taller than patchouli, usually 0.4 to 1.1m, with reddish stems and longer leaves, showing a heart-shaped or long oval shape.

The leaves of patchouli are more round and wider. Picture: Forest & Kim Starr / wikimedia

The leaves of patchouli are sharper and slender. Picture: Dalgial / wikipedia

The name "patchouli" was first recorded in the Han Dynasty and was an imported spice at that time, while the use of "patchouli" in medicine was first recorded in the Song Dynasty, when "patchouli" had been widely planted in Lingnan. But! The plant behind this medicine called patchouli is actually patchouli.

Patchouli has a long history of planting in Guangdong, which is also the best producing area of patchouli in China. Later, people gradually found that "patchouli" (actually patchouli) is a good thing, not only fragrant, but also seems to be able to cure many diseases, so the consumption has greatly increased, and the demand for cultivation in Lingnan alone is in short supply. Doctors began to look for alternatives-patchouli (true patchouli), a plant that is often called "patchouli" when used in medicine.

A familiar big family-- Labiatology

Most plants of the Labiatae have a characteristic: they emit a special fragrance. So some of the spices we use usually come from labiology.

Famous members include mint, lavender, basil, etc., while other members occupy their own "three places" in the famous "vegetable market"-the song "Scarborough Fair" (Scarborough Fair) sings "Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme)". Of these four spices, the latter three are labiatae.

I'm also a regular in perfume.

The "patchouli oil" in patchouli Zhengqi water is distilled from the leaves of patchouli. The main components are patchouli alcohol, patchouli ketone, α-guaiacene and other olefins and alcohols. Among them, patchouli alcohol is almost odorless at high concentration.

Patchouli plays an important role in the perfume industry, and its aroma is usually described as woody, earthy bitterness (almost the smell of Huoxiang Zhengqi water after removing the smell of alcohol). It is a commonly used spice in perfumes such as Oriental, Woodiness and Sepu. In addition, patchouli essential oil is also a good deodorant, which is the most persistent in plant essential oil.

Patchouli essential oil is brown. Picture: organicdailypost.com

An inextricable bond with hippies

The so-called "one side of soil and water nurtures the other patchouli", patchouli's hot and humid hometown, is its full play to antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, deworming, anti-itching and other functions of the stage. As early as the 17th century, patchouli "walked" to Europe along the Silk Road because of its excellent deworming ability.

At that time, merchants put sun-dried patchouli leaves in high-end silk products in India to ward off worms. Therefore, Europeans naturally associate the smell of patchouli with luxury goods, exotic customs and the mysterious oriental world.

Dried patchouli leaves. Picture: theherbexchange.com

Patchouli with an oriental background was enthusiastically sought after by European and American hippies in the sixties and seventies of the last century. John Anthony Moretta, an American educator and historian, wrote in his book The Hippies: a History of the 1960s: "even today, when most people think of hippies in the 1960s, they still see this classic image: a guy with long hair, ragged clothes and the smell of patchouli, sitting cross-legged in a psychedelic room meditating."

To some extent, the pervasive smell of patchouli is even more representative of that era than marijuana. This time, patchouli followed backpackers from Asia to Europe and the United States.

At that time, hippies respected Indian religion and spirituality. The beat Generation represents poets Allen Ginsburg and the Beatles who went to India in the 1960s, which partly inspired many people to embark on the "hippie road" (The Hippie Trail)-from Istanbul via Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, and finally to India.

Because of the close relationship between patchouli and India, hippies who come to India to pursue religion naturally love me and my dog. In addition, the rich smell of patchouli can also be used to mask the taste of marijuana, while the smell of soil fits in with the elements of hippie culture, such as environmental protection and closeness to nature. In this way, patchouli, together with hippies, left a great deal of color in the 1960s because of its own characteristics and cultural background.

Finally, I give you one of the most famous slogans of hippies: Make Love Not War. Together with patchouli, make the world full of love.

This is the 185th article in the fourth year of the species calendar, from the author of the species calendar @ Brooke.

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