Mesona
| Mesona | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Mesona Blume[1] |
| Species | |
|
See text. | |
Mesona is a genus of herbs in the mint family (Lamiaceae) found in Asia, with about 8–10 species.[2] The name derives from the Greek meso- ‘middle’, as the author found it possessing characteristics intermediate between basil and scullcap, other genera in the same family.[3]
A widely consumed species in this genus is Mesona chinensis (synonyms M. elegans and M. procumbens),[2] or xiancao (仙草) in Mandarin, sian-chháu in Taiwanese, leung fan cao (涼粉草) in Cantonese, and sương sáo in Vietnamese. It is eaten as a snack in drinks, or set as a gel and served as a grass jelly.
In Indonesia the Mesona palustris leaf is used to make a black jelly; there is also an instant powder variety available.
References
- ↑ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2012). World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants. CRC Press. p. 2489. ISBN 978-1-4200-8044-5.
See Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indië 838. 1826 and Taiwania 43(1):38–58. 1998.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Flora of China
- ↑ Don, George (1838). General History of the Dichlamydeous Plantus. London. p. 675.
from μέσος, mesos, middle; so called because the genus was supposed by the author to be intermediate between Ocymum and Scutellaria.