どくだみ
Houttuynia cordata
The Japanese name dokudami comes from an old expression that means to control/suppress poison, reflecting the plant's long history of remedy use despite the fact it is largely regarded as a weed that grows in shady sites with moist soil. As its alias juuyaku [lit. ten medicines] suggests, the plant is regarded as a useful home remedy for many purposes, including detoxification and cleansing wounds of infection as well as treating acne, eczema, burns, insect bites, bee stings, and so on. While the entire plant is considered effective, leaves, stems and flowers are often dried to make a tea or more concentrated decoction for routine consumption. The tea works as a diuretic.
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The tea (made with any part of the plant) tastes good cold, too.
To treat insect bites or bee stings, rub fresh leaves between your fingers to get the juice, and apply it over the affected area. Repeat application of the juice as necessary. The juice does smell fishy, but if you can stand the smell, the juice relatively quickly reduces itchiness.
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Some people mix the juice, paste or pureed leaves with Vaseline to make a first-aid ointment.
Besides usage as a home remedy, dokudami is used as a sansai mountain/wild vegetable in some regions. I have not yet tried it myself, but cooking with oil is supposed to eliminate the smell, and tempura is the standard method in Japan. A kinpira spicy saute of stems or roots is said to be good.
Dokudami's growing habit is very invasive even in native areas. If you decide to have a dokudami plant in your backyard or on the deck, planting it in a large container is recommended. Do not discard unwanted plants on the ground when dividing or re-potting, otherwise you might end up using chemicals to kill spreading dokudami in your garden. Just one starter plant from a friend filled a wine barrel tub in two years for me, and I expect the plant will start to come out from the bottom holes in the near future.
Dokudami tea (made with dokudami alone or mixed with other tea ingredients) is available at Japanese grocery stores in the US. Chinese herbal medicine stores also carry dried dokudami (yu xing cao / 魚腥草 [fishy smell herb]).
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