Winter Melon is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb that can also be eaten as a food. As a medicinal herb, Winter Melon has the effects of clearing deficient heat, replenishing qi, generating fluids, and promoting lactation. As a food ingredient, the tender fruit of Winter Melon can be eaten raw and has high nutritional value. Let me introduce you to the edible and medicinal value of Winter Melon!
Picture of Winter Melon
What is Winter Melon?
Winter Melon is a vine that grows up to 15-30cm long, often curved, and has short soft hairs on the aboveground part. The root is slender, brown, and has long roots. The stem is non-climbing, often branching from the base, cylindrical, with longitudinal wrinkles; it is light, brittle, and easily breaks.
The leaves are opposite, often fragmented or shed, and when flattened, they are linear in shape, 3-5cm long and 2-5cm wide, with entire margins. The flowers of Winter Melon are small and yellowish-white. The fruit is spindle-shaped with longitudinal wrinkles on the surface. It has a slight aroma and a bitter taste.
The stem of Winter Melon branches from the base. The leaves are opposite or nearly opposite; the leaflets are linear, 3-5cm long and 2-5mm wide, with raised midribs on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in umbellate cymes in the leaf axils; the sepals are covered with soft hairs on the outside. The corolla is greenish-white; the corolla lobes are cup-shaped, triangular-lanceolate, gradually closing, and higher than the membrane of the ovary. The fruit is spindle-shaped, gradually tapering at the apex, swollen in the middle, 5-6cm long, and approximately 2cm in diameter.
The seeds are flat, dark brown, up to 8mm long, with white silky hairs about 2cm long. Winter Melon flowers from May to August, and fruits from August to October.
The Edible Value of Winter Melon
Winter Melon is nutritionally comprehensive and can be used both as medicine and as food. It grows vigorously and is less prone to diseases and pests. Therefore, it is regarded as a green food and nutritious vegetable. It has been consumed raw since ancient times, and can also be washed and cold mixed for a more delicious taste, which is highly favored by the local residents.
Winter Melon can be eaten when it is tender, but not when it becomes slightly older. When it matures and breaks open, it releases fluffy seeds similar to dandelion seeds. Its stems are slender, have low lignification, and are soft in texture, making them suitable for animal consumption.
Picture of Winter Melon
Winter Melon is favored by camels, goats, and sheep when it is fresh and green. These animals especially like to eat its tender fruit. When it dries up, the leaves fall off and its palatability decreases slightly.
Chemically, Winter Melon has high nutritional value. Its protein content is similar to that of alfalfa, and it is comparable to wheat bran. It is also rich in crude fat and ash. In particular, its calcium content is relatively high, similar to that of other legume forage, and it contains very little indigestible nutrient crude fiber. Winter Melon not only has a relatively abundant protein content, but also has good protein quality.
The Medicinal Value of Winter Melon
When Winter Melon becomes older, its palatability decreases and it becomes difficult to swallow. However, it is a traditional Chinese medicine with rich medicinal value.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, Winter Melon tastes sweet and has a neutral nature. It belongs to the lung meridian and can tonify lung qi, generate fluids, clear heat, reduce fire, reduce inflammation, alleviate pain, and tonify deficiency to promote lactation. It is commonly used to treat symptoms such as deficiency fire inflammation, sore throat, deficiency of qi and yin, dizziness and insomnia, postpartum deficiency, and insufficient lactation.
In addition, the whole plant of Winter Melon can be used as medicine. When applied externally, it can treat warts. The specific method is to take a proper amount of fresh Winter Melon plant, break it and extract approximately 0.5-1 liang of juice, and apply it to the warts on the skin three times a day for half a month.
Winter Melon fruit has the functions of promoting lactation, tonifying lung qi, clearing heat, generating fluids, reducing inflammation, and alleviating pain. It has high edible and medicinal value. Meanwhile, because it is suitable for growth in wasteland and sandy soil, it also has good windbreak and sand-fixing effects.
Winter Melon is often used to clear deficient heat. For friends with sore throats, eating more Winter Melon can relieve the pain. In this hot summer, many people are prone to getting "fire" and feeling thirsty. Winter Melon can also be used to improve these conditions.
