The Cleistocalyx Operculatus, also known as the vối tree, is a woody plant species. With an average height of 5-6m, the vối tree can have a diameter of up to 50cm. The petiole of the vối leaf is about 1-1.5cm long, and the leaf blade is long and stiff. The vối flower is light green in color, nearly white, and has no petiole. The vối fruit is spherical or egg-shaped, with a diameter of 7-12mm when ripe, and it has a dark purple color when matured, with sap inside.
The vối leaves, young branches, and buds often have a pleasant aroma. Because of this, people often boil vối leaves or make vối tea for daily refreshment, similar to green tea.
Planting vối trees provides shade and enhances the beauty of your family garden, while also helping to purify the air due to its gentle and pleasant scent. This fragrance is even likened to an antibiotic because it has the ability to eliminate many bacteria that cause diseases.
Furthermore, vối leaves, buds, and fruits can be harvested to make beverages and medicinal remedies. According to traditional medicine, the bitterness in vối leaves stimulates the secretion of digestive fluids, protects the intestinal mucosa, and can be used to treat abdominal pain, diarrhea, chronic colitis, bloating, indigestion, loose stool, and more.
On the other hand, the polyphenols in vối bud water slow down the process of carbohydrate decomposition, delaying the absorption of sugar from food into the blood. As a result, it has a long-term effect on controlling blood sugar levels and limiting postprandial hyperglycemia. Additionally, drinking vối bud water helps regulate cholesterol metabolism in the blood, preventing complications in diabetic patients. Dried vối buds are sold on the market for approximately 140,000 VND per kilogram.
In feng shui, planting vối trees in front of the house brings good luck to the family, ensuring peace and prosperity. However, due to the wide foliage and tall trunk of vối trees, it is not advisable to plant them directly in the walkway in front of your house, as this may cause obstruction and inconvenience for movement, as well as hinder the flow of energy, leading to unfavorable feng shui. Moreover, vối trees planted in front of the house should be regularly pruned to avoid obstructing the line of sight and accumulating negative energy inside the house.
What are the benefits of vối leaves?
Vối leaves and flowers can be used fresh or fermented before consumption.
Method for fermenting vối leaves and flowers: After harvesting, clean the leaves and flowers, remove the sap, and let them dry. Put them in a basket or bamboo sieve, then cover them with straw until the leaves or flowers turn black. Once dry, store them for later use. The purpose of fermenting vối leaves is to destroy the green compounds inside the leaves and remove the resinous smell, resulting in better quality vối water.
Fresh vối leaves and flowers can also be harvested and dried for use as medicine.
Vối leaves have a bitter and slightly astringent taste. They contain a small amount of mild toxins that have cooling, antiseptic, liver-regulating, lung-regulating, and bladder-regulating effects. Vối water has antibacterial properties, reduces pain, fights inflammation, relieves phlegm, and regulates blood pressure due to liver heat. Daily consumption of vối water can aid digestion, reduce blood lipid levels, treat heat sensitivity, and regulate body temperature.
Usage:
Leaves can be used to make tea by steeping them in boiling water and drinking it hot. Small vối flowers can also be harvested and used to make tea. Additionally, vối leaves, buds, and flowers can be steeped together with Plectranthus amboinicus leaves and Aglaia odorata leaves to support digestion.
A concentrated vối leaf water solution can be used as an antibacterial and antiseptic solution for cleansing and treating acne, sores, scabies, and wounds.
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