Flora of China: "Perennial herb, 60-100 cm high. The roots are stout, lignified, light brown to gray, and several stems are born from the root neck, bifurcated or trifurcated, spreading, and the old stems are often reddish purple. The leaf blade is nearly leathery, slightly thick, oblong, 4-8 cm long and 5-15 mm wide, with a short cusp at the top and a slightly narrow base. The two leaf bases are connected into a short sheath, slightly clasping stems, with 3-5 veins, obvious midvein and narrow and nearly linear upper leaves. Corymbose cymes are dense, terminal or axillary, glabrous; Pedicel 2-5 mm long, straight, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; Bracts ovate-lanceolate, long tapering tail-shaped, veined, mostly ciliate; Calyx bell-shaped or funnel-shaped, 2-3 mm long, calyx teeth ovoid triangle, slightly acute, veins green, reaching the tip of teeth, white margin, veins, ciliate; Petals are pink, obovate-oblong, truncated or slightly concave at the top, longer than calyx 1 times; Stamens are longer than petals; Ovary obovoid, style long and linear, protruding. Capsule ovoid, slightly longer than persistent calyx, 4-lobed at the top; The seeds are nearly kidney-shaped, long1.2-1.5 mm, grayish brown, compressed on both sides, with strip-shaped protrusions, and small short verrucous protrusions on the spine. The flowering period is from June to September, and the fruiting period is from August to1October. It is produced in Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu and Henan (north of Qinling and Huaihe River), and it can be cultivated as' Bupleurum chinense' in Guangxi. Born in grassland, scrub, rocky beach or seashore sandy land on hillside below 2000 meters above sea level. North Korea also has it. The root is used for medicine, and has the effects of clearing away heat and cooling blood, relieving swelling and pain, promoting tissue regeneration and bone growth. Root soaking agent can prevent and control aphids, red spiders, cutworms, etc., and can also wash wool and silk products. Whole grass can be used as pig feed; It can also be cultivated for viewing. "

Why is Xiacao called "mountain grasshopper" in dialect? I think this is the name corresponding to "grasshopper". Grasshopper, namely purslane, is a very common wild vegetable. Folks call Portulaca oleracea L. as it is similar to grasshopper, it has gradually evolved into grasshopper. So what are the similarities between Xiacao and Portulaca oleracea? Their biggest similarity is the taste. Fresh purslane, the taste is sour; Fresh Xiacao, which I have tasted before, tastes sour. Moreover, they also have some similarities in appearance. Both of them are very common wild vegetables, with sour taste and similar appearance; Portulaca oleracea is generally born on the flat ground, and Xiacao is generally grown on the hillside. Thus, Xiacao got the name of "mountain grasshopper". In dialects, there are countless examples of such naming, such as celery and water celery, bamboo and mangosteen (both Dianthus chinensis and Bupleurum chinense), sweet potato and mountain sweet potato (Ampelopsis), eggplant and mountain eggplant (both Viola yedoensis and Solanum nigrum). Things are always changing, and in some places, "grasshopper" is simply called "grasshopper" and "purslane". After a long-term pronunciation change, the stress falls on the last word. This is also a normal phenomenon in dialects. However, in this way, "literati" don't know what its name is, and even think that this plant widely distributed in Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan and other places is a specialty of Jiaodong Peninsula.