Through time herbs grow all over the mountains and forests
This season, the high mountains are always covered with misty clouds. Occasionally, dark clouds suddenly embrace the mountains and then pour down rain, refreshing the lush green forests after many months of drought. Under the forest canopy, countless "strange flowers and rare herbs" compete to grow, which is likened to an endless warehouse of medicinal herbs. I was present at the "ideal hut" of the old mountain man Ut Thanh (Dinh Van Tuoi, 93 years old, living near Thuy Liem Lake). We entered the garden to find Mr. Ut when the old mountain man was leaning on a stick to climb up the hill. Although he is nearly "a hundred years old" this year, Mr. Ut is very strong.
Leaning back on an old wooden chair, he slowly made tea and invited us to enjoy it. It had been a long time since I had time to sit leisurely on this 716m high mountain, known as the second Da Lat of the West. Sipping a cup of “cold” tea from an old mountaineer who has lived a long life in this mountain forest was a rare occasion. The nature of Cam Mountain is fresh and cool, rarely comparable to any other place in the delta. I took a deep breath and exhaled heavily to immerse myself in nature and feel the peaceful scenery here.
Mr. Thien Chung, the preserver of hundreds of rare yam species.
Sitting and chatting, Mr. Ut recalled that he had been on Cam Mountain for about 50 years. In the past, Mr. Ut's hometown was in Co Do District ( Can Tho City). His family had little land, so he decided to go to Cam Mountain to reclaim and establish a garden of 1.5 hectares, growing fruit trees. Every day, he collected the profits and carried the produce down the mountain to sell to the people. After that, he bought rice and necessities to bring up the mountain to live. Just like that, the years passed, and he settled on this mountain for decades.
When asked, we learned that Mr. Ut is a famous physician on Cam Mountain. Pointing to his back garden, Mr. Ut boasted that there are hundreds of medicinal herbs there. Pointing to the small-leafed acacia tree, commonly known as the devil ant sau tree, Mr. Ut said that in the past, this type of yam grew all over Cam Mountain but now it has become rare due to excessive cutting by people. "People believe that the devil ant sau tree repels evil spirits, so they compete to cut it down and bring it home to keep or make bracelets," Mr. Ut said.
Restoring precious genetic resources
In Mr. Ut's garden, there are still many dragon blood trees that are decades old. He considers this medicinal herb as a precious plant in the garden, and does not allow anyone to cut it down and take it home. Mr. Ut said that one day, some people came to ask him for dragon blood trees to use as medicine, but he did not allow them because he was afraid of losing the precious medicinal species of Cam mountain. A few years ago, Mr. Ut's medicinal mountain garden was visited by many university and college students to study and research the precious medicinal herbs of Cam mountain that were preserved.
Seeing us looking around Mr. Ut's backyard, but not knowing which plants were medicinal and which were forest plants, Mr. Ut smiled: "Those who have not studied will not know the types of medicine on Cam Mountain". This sacred mountain has many types of medicine that look similar, but Mr. Ut knows hundreds of them well. For example, the medicinal herb do trong, Mr. Ut said that when compared to the mangrove tree, the stem and leaves of this type look like the medicinal plant ngu linh chi. If you are not familiar with it, it is easy to confuse and treat the wrong disease. The mangrove tree, ho phat tree, and cinnamon tree have similar aromas, making it difficult to distinguish...
Chatting enthusiastically with Mr. Ut when the sun was at its highest, we quickly walked down the slope of Cam mountain back to Dat Nho mountain in Tinh Bien ward. We met physician Nguyen Thien Chung (58 years old) who was dispensing medicine for the people. Mr. Chung used to be the Chairman of the Oriental Medicine Association of Tinh Bien town (old). Behind his house is Dat Nho mountain where he planted and preserved hundreds of rare medicinal plants. In the past, Mr. Chung and Mr. Ut Thanh used to contact and meet each other on the mountain. The two men chatted about medicinal plants of Cam mountain for hours but could not know all the medicinal plants of this sacred mountain.
Mr. Chung boasted that behind his garden was a warehouse of Chinese yams that he had collected from Cam Mountain, Dai Mountain, To Mountain, and even some herbs that Mr. Chung had brought back from Phu Quoc Island. Seeing that I was half-believing, Mr. Chung pointed to the Bi Ky Nam plant, asserting that it had been collected from Phu Quoc Island a few years ago. This herb is now rare. "I guarantee that in the entire Bay Nui region, only I have this medicinal plant," Mr. Chung affirmed. In addition, white Chinese yams are rare to grow. It seems that this Bay Nui region no longer exists. In the past, Mr. Chung collected white Chinese yams from Co To Mountain, which had good medicinal properties.
Mr. Chung said that his family has a long tradition of being doctors. Participating in the traditional medicine association since 1991, Mr. Chung has supported and trained many local traditional medicine practitioners and doctors; and supported teaching more than 700 doctors about medicinal plants. “I am conscious of preserving over 400 medicinal plants in my backyard next to Dat mountain. In addition, I support the preservation of medicinal plants by the forestry sector, the Ho Chi Minh City Biotechnology Center ...”, Mr. Chung shared.
Over the past 30 years, Mr. Chung has examined and treated more than 116,000 patients in and outside the province. With that achievement, he has received many certificates of merit from the Provincial People's Committee and professional sectors. In addition, Mr. Chung was honored to receive the title of "National Outstanding Oriental Medicine Practitioner" for his outstanding achievements in preserving and developing Vietnamese Oriental Medicine.
Preserving herbal genetic resources not only helps maintain the ecosystem but also preserves traditional medical knowledge for future generations. Hopefully, the efforts of the mountain people will keep the mountain medicine treasure forever.
| Bay Nui has 650 medicinal herbs, of which Cam Mountain has about 300 species, with high medicinal properties, effectively treating many chronic diseases. From his experience, the physician has summarized many favorite remedies in curing diseases and saving people. |
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/bao-ton-son-duoc-a424306.html
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