January 16, 2011
Published in the “technology boom” in 2009, 11, p. 46.
Significant also eating lettuce
Photo / Liu Huajie Peking University Centre for Science Communication
Figure 1: Hill’s tender shoots of lettuce, was taken in Tsinghua University.

Figure 2: lettuce’s yellow, white for the dog around the flower wow. Taken in Beijing Miyun Reservoir.

Today is September 22, 2009. Several Ouniao the south bank of the Miyun Reservoir in the autumn leisurely fly at low altitude, while hundreds of white or gray in waders in a calm lake beach basking in the sun, unfortunately I could not utter the name. Lake of the crop has been quietly change the color. Shen Dian Dian grow corn pole of the bar, rod sprouted grain like millet sprays coarse coir rope, all of these fruits hanging his head modestly. Peanuts have long harvest, the seeds of the occasional missing half a year earlier, made a bud, clean the soil from the fat of the cotyledons of two outstretched. Mung bean and sunflower also green, a low and one high around the corn fields. Highly similar to the edge of cultivated land and green beans, brown beans in the green tea through Cassia, dressed in the remnants of a few slices of green feathery leaves, stems, closed out the rows of pods. Twist open pods, can see the bright Xiao Douzi about two millimeters. The most eye-catching is a piece of farmland outside of the wild white dogs with blue sky matched by wow flowers.
Wow took the dog in close-up shots, I saw a small yellow flower isolated several flower near the withered blossoms on. One early winter afternoon, I and Wu Guosheng stroll along in this neighborhood have seen this Compositae, up to 1 meter and a half of the dry stem and many branches, hung with hundreds of achenes nearly cleared the head like inflorescence. Lake Resort in the clouds when we meet, time to cast a look to the lake. The Air I went to the University of lectures, early arrival, with one hour of free time, alone to the lake, have the opportunity to meet with it again. This species is Asteraceae Lactuca ( Lactuca
indica ), their local names are Ida on A (Mongolian name), swallowtail (Changbai area termed dialect pronounced “Yan chair”), duck food, bitter Ma cuisine (Jinping calls it), bitter lettuce, an arrow (Zunyi it is called).
Lactuca very common, very common, no need to be able to see the Miyun Reservoir. Peking University, Tsinghua University, National Taiwan Normal University campus, Summer Palace, the Yongfeng High-tech Park, the Beijing districts and counties, as well as outside the country in addition to the Northwest, could see the plant! In the spring and autumn, this plant can cause the most attention.
It wears a thick split spring robust tender shoots of leaves, is very different from the surrounding grasses. It is thick, straight stems on the leaves very large, close to the tip of spears broken soon after the cropped white hair sticky liquid, oxidation in the air quickly turn yellow black. Dripping hands, Yiwu, on its own not just the relationship, if a bit like that on earth, a little trouble, is difficult to wash. This white paste with a little bitter, and many herbs have such Asteraceae white pulp, an addition to lettuce (Lactuca) other than, Sonchus genus (Sonchus), will activate an (Ixeris) plant is the same. However, it is such a touch of bitterness, so that they eat up tastefully. In fact mountain wild lettuce is a very good, and basically not eating this wild destruction of ecology, because it is widely distributed, all the seeds, plant growth capacity, fecundity strong. Wrote a small root in the wild garlic that has continuously been asked what other vegetables in Beijing. By the fifth son of the emperor Zhu profuse book “Famine Herbal” collection contains more than 400 kinds of plants, and “thinning of the drawing.” The less edible wild plants in Beijing also has 200 species. However, “health care” and “Famine of survival” can not be compared, together with ecological protection restrictions now, and I should not be easily recommended. But lettuce is no problem.
As a tasty vegetable, lettuce easiest way is: take fresh shoot tips, including leaves, Billy 3 minutes with boiling water, rinse with water, then soaked in 5 hours, remove some bitterness, and can be cold, soup or fried. Note that the growth of the city as much as possible not to eat lettuce because of pollution.
Spring, in the wild you can dig back several strains of lettuce, or kept in pots or planted outdoors. Just grow out, you will find it has a conical fleshy root, indicating that it is very easy to survival. If you do not want to seriously affect its growth, it can look like the lettuce to eat, a time to remove the stems and leaves of lower consumption, while a long while to eat. Later, you can enjoy the beauty of its flowers out.
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Click on the hyperlink to read the electronic version:
12 LIU Hua-jie, luxury Ying Luo wood, “technology boom” in 2009, No. 12, p. 50.
11 LIU Hua-jie, considerable edible lettuce, “technology boom” in 2009, No. 11, p. 46.
10 LIU Hua-jie, Everest base camp Tinglizi, “technology boom” in 2009, No. 10, p. 54.
09 LIU Hua-jie, false lily is also a lily, “technology boom”, No. 9, 2009, p. 44.
08 LIU Hua-jie, Orobanche: the desert of gentle, “technology boom” in 2009, No. 8, p. 48.
07 LIU Hua-jie, Beijing five branches of the hawthorn, “technology boom” in 2009, No. 7, p. 48.
06 LIU Hua-jie, four homes on the parasitic locust tree structure, “technology boom” in 2009, No. 6, p. 50.
05 LIU Hua-jie, delicious wild Allium, “technology boom”, No. 5, 2009, p. 42.
04 LIU Hua-jie, ecological killer bidentis approximation Beijing, “technology boom” in 2009, No. 4, p. 46.
03 LIU Hua-jie, Huang independence chiral, “technology boom”, No. 3, 2009, p. 42.
02 LIU Hua-jie, paederiae: an invasive plant in Beijing, “technology boom” in 2009, No. 2, p. 44.
01 LIU Hua-jie, Rose: The Secret? “Technology boom”, No. 1, 2009, p. 42.
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