Typha latifolia is an aquatic herb of Typha family, also known as Typha latifolia, Typha latifolia, Sun Pu, Puya, Typha latifolia and Pueraria lobata. Old Jinan is called cattail. It has been cultivated in China for more than 3000 years. In the Book of Songs, the earliest collection of poems in China, there are many records about Pu, such as "The viciousness of the other, what is Pu?" ("Chen Fengze North") and "What's the difference between the two, bamboo shoots and Pu" ("Daya Hanshu") ... All these show that people regarded bamboo shoots and Pu Cai as good vegetables in ancient times. Mei Cheng, a master of Han Fu in the Western Han Dynasty, listed a series of menus for the King of Jin in Seven Hair. Among them, there is a famous dish "lean beef, bamboo shoots and Pu Cai", which is cooked with lean calf meat, bamboo shoots and Pu Cai, and it tastes delicious. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Jia Sixie, an agronomist in Shouguang, Shandong Province, said in Qi Yao Min Shu: "Pugen is considered to be born, and the one that plunged its center into the ground is as big as a dagger handle, but white and crisp." He thinks all the raw and cooked foods in Pu Cai are beautiful. Amin Wang Shimao also said in the Book of Fruits and Vegetables: "Sun Pu and asparagus are delicious, especially Sun Pu." Fully affirmed the beauty of bamboo shoots.

Jinan has a vast Daming Lake and numerous bays and ponds. The clear water and fertile soil provide good conditions for the growth of Typha latifolia. Therefore, Pu Cai has become a specialty of Jinan since ancient times and is known as "beautiful vegetable". In the Qing Dynasty, the sage Xian Yi wrote in Miscellanies of the Ring:

"There are four beautiful vegetables in the calendar, new leeks before spring, cold fermented grains in autumn, Xia Pugen and winter moss." A glimpse of Jinan, published in the early years of the Republic of China, also said: "The general dishes of Daming Lake, which are like water chestnuts and taste like bamboo shoots, are treasures of plants and vegetables in several northern provinces." This is the highest evaluation of Jinan Pucai. Jinan people have this godsend "treasure", and they can't put it down. Use it to make all kinds of delicious dishes, such as Pu Cai, Fried Pu Cai with shrimp, Fried Pu Cai with meat, Pu Cai with cow milk soup, etc. They are all delicious and unique, which makes people never tire of eating and have endless aftertaste. In particular, the "Cow Milk Soup Pu Cai" boiled with milk soup and Pu Cai is crispy and delicious, and is known as "Jinan Dingtang". It was very famous as early as the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and its reputation still exists today. People who travel to Jinan like this dish very much. In 1930s, Yu Dafu, a famous modern writer, stayed in Jinan for a short time and left a deep impression on Jinan Pu Cai. He wrote in the article: "Only lotus and cattail are really fresh." Cang Kejia, a famous poet who studied in Jinan as a teenager, once fondly recalled: "Visitors who have visited Daming Lake often go to restaurants on the shore to eat. The restaurant is not big, but one dish is quite famous, that is: stir-fried meat with Pu Cai. I have eaten roast whole pig and stir-fried meat with ordinary dishes in Jinan, and I still remember it vividly. When I write about the dishes in my hometown, I have another feeling in my heart. My heart has returned to my hometown and returned to my adolescence. "

Pu Cai can not only be made into delicious food, but also become a "popular food" loved by ordinary people. For example, the "old beef tendon" and "a knot in one's heart" that old Jinan people are familiar with are all special foods made of cattail. Mr. Qin Ruoshi, who is quite familiar with the anecdotes of Jinan, made a special introduction to these two kinds of food. In his article, he mentioned that "old beef tendon" is a long beard on the underground root of Pucai, which is shaped like a whip the thickness of a white finger. It can be chewed without breaking, just like beef tendon. Chew in your mouth, swallow juicy meat and spit out tough residue. Its taste is sweet and bitter, cool and refreshing, and it is very popular with children. A knot in one's heart is the underground tuber of Typha latifolia, which is dark brown and has short hair outside. It can be eaten after steaming. In the past, Jinan specialized in selling "acne". The shopkeeper cut off the leaves and stems of Typha latifolia, leaving behind the hairy tubers. Wash the mud on the tuber, then steam it in the pot, and it becomes a "pimple". Put steamed "pimples" into bamboo baskets and sell them along the street. After the customer buys, the seller cuts off the thick skin of the "pimple" with a small sickle with a short handle and cuts it from the middle to the buyer. The peeled pimples are white and sweet, just like noodles. Dip in sugar. Better than chestnuts.

In addition to eating, cattail has many uses. Its flowers are shaped like sponge sticks, commonly known as cattail sticks. In the past, when there was no mosquito-repellent incense, people often lit dried cattail sticks to repel mosquitoes, and the effect was quite good. Sun-dried Folium Puerariae can also be woven into sleeping mats, bags, shoes and other daily necessities. In addition, cattail also has the effects of clearing away heat, cooling blood, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling, and can be used to treat fatigue, fetal bleeding, aphtha, dysentery, gonorrhea, edema and other diseases.

Because of its wide use, cattail was widely planted in Daming Lake and other places in the past. People in the lake paddle boats, dig tender cattails in the lake in early summer and harvest cattails in the lake in late autumn. Ships full of harvest and joy shuttle back and forth on the lake, becoming a beautiful scenery on Daming Lake like lotus picking boats. ...