Zongzi is a signature food of the Dragon Boat Festival and is much loved by people. Xu Shen's Sayings on the Interpretation of Chinese Characters from the Han Dynasty states: “Zong (zongzi) is glutinous rice wrapped in reed leaves.” This indicates that at the time, reed leaves were primarily used for wrapping zongzi. In fact, with different customs and local products across regions, different leaves may have been used to wrap zongzi in various places south and north of the Yangtze River, such as the leaves of the Nandina, banana, lou, and lotus plants, which can be aptly described as “sticky rice remains, while the zongye varies.” What many do not know is that the zongye discarded after eating zongzi also has medicinal and health benefits.
Reed Leaves
Reed leaves are one of the oldest types of zongye, mainly distributed in areas such as North China, Northeast China, and the Two Lakes Region. Reed leaves are commonly used to wrap zongzi in northern regions and along the Yangtze River. After being boiled in water, reed-leaf-wrapped zongzi emit a unique fragrance, which can refresh one's mood during the sultry weather of the Dragon Boat Festival. The “reed” mentioned in “The reeds are thick, and the frost turns white” in the Book of Songs refers to young reeds.
In traditional Chinese medicine, reed leaves have a sweet taste and a cold nature, entering the lung and stomach meridians. They have the effects of clearing heat and dispelling foulness, stopping bleeding, and detoxifying. They are suitable for conditions such as cholera vomiting and diarrhea, hemoptysis, epistaxis, and lung abscess. According to Jade Chisel Medical Exposition, they “clear the lungs and stop vomiting, treating carbuncles and lung abscess.”
Nandina Leaves
Nandina leaves are the leaves of a broad-leaf bamboo, dark green in color, with a unique bamboo aroma. They are native to Hainan and areas south of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Today, these leaves are commonly used as zongye in provinces south of the Yangtze River.
Compared to reed leaves, Nandina leaves are more resilient and less likely to crack, and their leaves are wider, sometimes allowing a single leaf to wrap an entire zongzi. More importantly, the seasonal availability of Nandina leaves is longer than that of reed leaves, making them the preferred choice for companies engaged in the industrial production of zongzi. Nandina leaves can not only be used to wrap zongzi but also to line steaming baskets for niangao and glutinous rice.
Nandina leaves have a sweet taste and a cold nature, possessing the effects of clearing heat, stopping bleeding, and detoxifying and reducing swelling. They are used for hemoptysis, epistaxis, hematochezia, dysuria, sore throat, carbuncles, and other ailments. Modern scientific research has confirmed that Nandina leaves are rich in various vitamins and trace elements. Flavonoids extracted from Nandina leaves are effective against tumors. Additionally, due to their strong antibacterial properties, Nandina leaves are known as a “natural preservative” for food.
Lotus Leaves
Lotus leaves are wide and large, making them very suitable for wrapping zongzi. They have a unique fragrance, with the highest quality coming from regions like Hubei, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. Fresh lotus leaves are often used as zongye in southern lotus-producing areas. However, zongzi wrapped in lotus leaves are usually steamed rather than boiled, as the bitter taste of the lotus leaf might affect the flavor when boiled. Some regional delicacies, such as the Beggar's Chicken from Changshu, Jiangsu, require the use of lotus leaves to wrap marinated chicken before roasting it over firewood.
In traditional Chinese medicine, lotus leaves have a bitter and astringent taste and a neutral nature, entering the liver, heart, and spleen meridians. They have the effects of clearing heat and dispelling summer heat, raising yang, and stopping bleeding. They can be used for conditions such as summer heat thirst, headache and dizziness, spleen deficiency abdominal distension, diarrhea, hemoptysis and hematochezia, postpartum lochia retention, and erysipelas. As recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica: “Promotes primary qi, assists the spleen and stomach, restrains turbid essence, disperses clotted blood, reduces edema and carbuncles, promotes the eruption of smallpox, treats hemoptysis, coughing up blood, epistaxis, hematuria, dysuria, metrorrhagia, postpartum lochia retention, trauma, and blood stasis.”
Modern studies have shown that lotus leaves have the effects of regulating blood lipids, relieving cough and phlegm, lowering blood pressure, and antispasmodic actions. They are clinically used to treat hyperlipidemia, obesity, pneumonia, and other conditions. Research has also found that the total phenol and total flavonoid content in lotus leaves is higher than that in Nandina and reed leaves, and their antioxidant function is optimal. This natural antioxidant activity can delay the oxidation process of food, thereby extending its shelf life.
Banana Leaves
In southwestern regions of our country, such as Yunnan, where bananas are abundant, there is a custom of using banana leaves to make zongzi. In places that produce bananas, such as Vietnam, banana leaves are commonly used as zongye. These zongzi differ greatly from those typically seen elsewhere, and sometimes giant zongzi can be found. Such zongzi are usually steamed and, due to their large size, can include a variety of meat and vegetable ingredients.
The medicinal use of banana leaves is recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica. Later texts state that they have a bland and sweet taste and a cold nature, entering the heart and liver meridians. They have the effects of clearing heat, promoting diuresis, and detoxifying. They are commonly used for febrile diseases, heatstroke, foot qi, carbuncles, heat toxins, and burns.
Lou Leaves
Lou leaves, also known as zongba leaves, are mainly produced in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan. Their leaves are long and wide, making them the designated leaves for wrapping zongzi in Zhaoqing, Guangdong. Lou leaves have a bland and slightly sweet taste and a slightly cold nature, entering the lung, stomach, and large intestine meridians. They have the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling the blood and stopping bleeding, and promoting diuresis. They can be used for conditions such as high fever in colds, dysentery, hemoptysis, epistaxis, menorrhagia, oral ulcers, hoarseness, dysuria, and other symptoms.