Dongping National Forest Park on Shanghai's Chongming Island is inviting visitors to dig potherbs, which are popping out of the soil thanks to the recent days of rain alternating with sunshine in Shanghai.

At the entrance of the park there is a garden with various varieties of wild plants, so that even the green hands can recognize some of the edible vegetables among the lush plants of the park.

Garden visitors can rent a small basket and a shovel and then follow the hints of a treasure map to locate five places in the park where potherbs flourish. Those who find more than five varieties of vegetables will be rewarded with some plant seeds from the park.

You can bring your harvest home, or cook them at the barbecue zone of the park. There are veteran chefs teaching visitors to make dumplings with potherb stuffing, too.

"The shepherd's purse, malan and dandelion are the most popular and they are totally natural organic vegetables," says Ni Min from the park's marketing department.

Ouyang Ying, a Taiwan diet guru who researches diet therapies through organic vegetables and fruits, will give lectures on the medical benefits of these wild plants, Ni says.

Malan, or Herba kalimeridis, with tender culms and a faint scent, has antibacterial and haemostatic functions and can be made into salad herb. Scald the malan in boiling water, cut it into small pieces and mix them with dried beancurd to make a traditional dish, malan stirred with dried tofu.

The shepherd's purse abounds around the Tomb-Sweeping Festival, which fell on April 4 this year. It can be made into stuffing for dumplings, bean-curd soup or stir-fried with chicken. The plant can help lower blood pressure and aid digestion.

Malan loves shade and shepherd's purse loves sunshine, so you can search for them according to their habitats.

The park suggests visitors not to pick unfamiliar vegetables in case they are poisonous, especially the wild mushrooms which are mostly poisonous. When digging the wild plants, be sure not to pull them up by the roots so that there will be more to harvest next year.

The event lasts until April 30. Visitors can also appreciate the orchids, which are in full blossom at this time.

The 3.55-square-kilometer park is the largest man-made forest in eastern China. It has more than 500 species of trees and flowers. Bike-friendly paths wind through thick groves of bamboo and pine, and visitors may occasionally spot roaming deer and horses.

wuni@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/14/2013 page15)