https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/A4PeQB2Vq1CW8xtc-5KQOA
Everyone is welcome to share their own experiences with these medicinal herbs in the replies, to facilitate others in searching and learning.
421. Chuan Maidong (Ophiopogon Japonicus from Sichuan)
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), besides the five flavors of sour, bitter, sweet, acrid, and salty, there is also a “light” flavor; I feel Chuan Maidong roughly fits this description.
It has some taste—slightly sweet, slightly bitter (a bitterness similar to ginsenosides)—but you can’t precisely say how much flavor it has, and it is classified as “light.”
Fresh Dendrobium soaked in water is also considered “light,” but compared to that, Chuan Maidong still has more flavor.
After soaking, if you chew it, it remains moist, with a decent texture and some gelatinous quality.
Confirmed effects: Generates fluids and moistens dryness, nourishes the lungs and stops coughing. For menopausal women (not limited to this group, just as an example) with dryness-heat, dry eyes, dry throat, and dry skin, its effect is quite definite (as in the Zengye Decoction: Scrophularia ningpoensis, Ophiopogon japonicus, and Rehmannia glutinosa).
421. Zhe Maidong (Ophiopogon Japonicus from Zhejiang)
Chewed directly, it mainly tastes sweet with a slight celery-like bitterness, and has a gum-like texture. As you chew, you pull out the core in the middle, much like chewing gum and then discarding the gum; it can be eaten as a snack.
The water it produces when soaked smells a bit like pepper and pork tripe chicken soup. When drinking, the sweetness and bitterness are more pronounced than in Chuan Maidong, and there is an effect traveling along the bladder meridian (especially around the cervical spine and the back of the head).
Functions: Generates fluids and replenishes liquids, moistens the lungs to stop cough, moistens the heart and clears the meridians, nourishes the stomach and benefits qi. Can serve as a chief herb.
422. Tiandong (Asparagus Cochinchinensis)
Eating it directly tastes good, and after soaking and expanding in water, the texture is excellent, as the cores have been removed making it crisp with no residue. It feels like it could be added directly to milk tea as a replacement for water chestnut pieces.
The water from soaking it tastes and functions similarly to a 2-3 times stronger Chuan Maidong.
However, the quantity changes also cause a qualitative change (exceeding the threshold to affect the body). Tiandong can enter the heart channel, generate fluids, and also has a slight effect of transmitting power along the meridians.
Among the three, Chuan Maidong is the weakest, Zhe Maidong the strongest, and Tiandong in the middle (though the comparison isn’t exactly fair, as the Zhe Maidong given grew for three years in nocturnal yin soil, while the other two lack such conditions).
If you cannot get Zhe Maidong, you can partially substitute it with “ordinary Tiandong + ordinary Guang Yujin (Curcuma aromatica).” Why not use Huangsi Yujin (Dark Curcuma)? Because the people who can get Huangsi Yujin can usually get Zhe Maidong as well.