Acid vine fruit is the fruit of the plant acid vine, which belongs to the Rubiaceae family. It mainly grows in areas with abundant trees and mountain valleys. Spring is the best season to eat acid vine fruit. At this time, the fruit is ripe and has a sour and sweet taste, making it very delicious.
The fruit of the acid vine is spherical or ellipsoidal, with a diameter of 3 to 8 mm. The surface is green-brown or gray-purple with wrinkles. The top retains the stigma remnant, and the bottom is usually attached to a 2 to 5 mm long pedicel and small calyx.
The fruit peel is brittle and easy to peel off. The seeds are often covered with brown seed coat, and the kernel is hard. The cross section is yellowish-white and horny, and the outer side can also be seen with patterns of seed coat embedded in the endosperm. It has a slight aroma and a mild taste, but chewing it for a long time can give a spicy and numbing sensation.
Acid vine fruit mainly grows in shrubs or beside mountain valleys. It ripens in April, similar to cherries. In southern regions, many rural children think that acid vine fruit is even more delicious than cherries. It tastes sour and sweet, making it more flavorful.
Immature acid vine fruit is green and very sour, so it is generally not suitable for consumption. However, once it ripens, the fruit becomes blood red and tastes sour-sweet, making it very delicious.
Acid vine fruit is rich in vitamin C and anthocyanins, and consuming it in moderation is beneficial for the body. It has anti-aging and beauty effects.
However, due to the improvement in living conditions in rural areas, more and more people are unfamiliar with this wild fruit. Therefore, acid vine fruit is rarely considered as a wild fruit anymore, but rather as a medicinal herb.
The fruit, leaves, and roots (acid vine wood) of the acid vine fruit can all be used as medicine. The fruit has the effect of strengthening and nourishing the blood, while the leaves have the effect of dispersing stasis, relieving pain, and treating bruises and swelling.
In addition to these values, it is also used as an animal medicine in folklore. When cattle have fever, they can be fed acid vine fruit leaves.
