Clam leaf is a pepper plant of Piperaceae, which is common in southern China and Guangdong and Guangxi. Its leaves have special fragrance, similar to pepper. Perilla frutescens was introduced earlier. As a spice, clam leaves are also famous for their unique fragrance. They are often used as seasoning and are deeply loved by everyone.

Clam leaf plants are not very tall. Generally, they are shrub types, which grow in the dark places of mountains and forests. It likes a humid and semi-shaded environment, and its leaves will be greener and stronger. Where the sun is abundant, the color of leaves is relatively dark. If you want good quality leaves, you have to find them in the mountains.

The stem base of clam leaves is creeping, the upper part is upright, and the nodes are swollen and the stems and leaves are distinct. The leaves are broadly ovoid or nearly round, with smooth membrane and green leaves. Flowers in autumn, spikes, longer than nodules, white.

The first time I met clam leaves, my mother picked them from the hillside and used them to fry snails. They had a special taste and a strong aroma, and I fell in love with the taste after eating them. We call it fake betel leaf and mountain betel leaf here, and it will appear on the Mid-Autumn Festival every year. Fried snails can't copy it. If they don't deserve this flavor, they always feel something is missing.

In Guangdong, there are many ways to eat clam leaves, and you can choose according to your own taste. Some people use it to wrap zongzi, which is a unique taste; The fake leaves are wrapped in meat, the leaves are washed and dried, and the meat is cooked and eaten with leaves; Picked leaves and fried snails; Boil soup with tender leaves and put some lean meat together, which is fragrant and delicious.