water shield

Water shield is a kind of perennial water plants. Originally, it grows wild in the lakes and ponds south to the Yantze river. The leaves of water shield are oval and dark green. The back of the leaves can secrete agar-like mucilage, which possesses abundant protein, dextrose, etc.
The water shield can be made boiled or fried. It is not only a kind of vegetable with distinct flavor but also functions to clear away heat, nourish the lung and stomach, smooth the urine, promote the subsidence of swelling, remove the toxic materials and cease diarrhoea.
There has been manual cultivation of water shield since the last years of Ming dynasty. The water field grows very fast. The roots start to sprout around the Pure Brightness festival every year and the tender leaves picked at this time are called “ spring water shield”. After the Beginning of Summer, the temperature increases and the water shield grows well. Around the 18th solar term, it is the time to pick water shield in large quantit
water shield