The scientific name of bitter hemp is called chicory, which is an annual or biennial herb. The whole plant is used as medicine and has the effects of clearing away heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, removing dampness and lowering blood pressure. So, is Bitter Ma Cai a Qu Ma Cai?

1. Is Bitter Ma Cai a Qu Ma Cai?

Bitter Ma Cai is not a Qu Ma Cai. The differences are as follows:

1. Differences in leaves

The leaves of sorrel are round and lanceolate, and they look green on the outside. The back of the leaves is gray-green, and the stems It's yellowish white. The leaves of Qumacai have spiny-toothed edges, and the stems are relatively upright, reddish white, and milk will ooze out when the leaves are broken.

2. Differences in efficacy

Bitter hemp can clear away heat and detoxify, cool blood, remove blood stasis and relieve pain. It has a good effect on abdominal pain, menstrual pain or discomfort in the chest and abdomen caused after childbirth; while Qumacai can treat carbuncles and sores, and is mainly used to treat bacillary dysentery, enteritis, lung abscess and acute appendicitis. It has a very obvious effect on acne-prone teenagers.

3. Differences in growth environment

Bitter lettuce has strong adaptability and is widely distributed on hillside grasslands at an altitude of 5,004,000m and even on plain roadside, farmland or wasteland. It is a kind of Common weeds.

This species is drought tolerant and relatively cold tolerant. It can also grow on fixed and semi-fixed sand dunes and other sandy surfaces in arid areas of the north. It can also adapt to the high and cold Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with an altitude of 3300-4000m. In areas such as Northeast China and Inner Mongolia, it turns green earlier and can survive short-term after frost in late autumn. Mountain bittern is a tiller-type herb.

The seeds of Qumacai can germinate at 3 to 5°C. The suitable temperature for germination is 20-27℃. The suitable temperature for growth and development is 10~25℃. It is resistant to drought, waterlogging, and salt-alkali, but it grows well in moist soil and sufficient water, and its quality is crisp and tender. During drought, the leaves have more fiber and are of poor quality. But too much water can cause root rot and death. The soil requirements are not strict, and it can also grow in coastal saline-alkali soil. It can be planted in front of the house, behind the house, and in every corner of the land. But it is best to plant it in fertile, loose, water-retaining and fertile loam.