许其正：仙草

“天气这么热，来一碗仙草冰，该有多好呀！”

“是呀！那再好不过了！……哇，那边就有嘛，你看！路那边……。”

“好！我们去吃去！”

“喂！仙草是怎么做的？长得怎样？你知道吗？”

“不知道。”

“我们问老板吧！”

“仙草呀！它们又叫仙草舅、凉粉草、仙人草、仙草冻等，山野路旁到处都有，是一年生草本，全体被有分节的毛，茎方形，带红褐色，叶卵形至椭圆形，边缘有锯齿，上表面光滑或仅在中肋上具有少许毛，下表面散生毛茸，秋冬开花，花序顶生或腋生，花萼钟形，二唇，上唇较长，花冠管状，淡紫色，雄蕊四枚，二长二短，花柱扁平，柱头二分叉……这些说明其实你们也不懂啦，哪，这就是啦，你们看就知道。”

“哇！这么不起眼呀！”

“别小看它们！把它们的茎叶取来熬汁，加点粉浆及粳油，冷却后就变成黑紫色洋菜 状物，切成小块，加入糖水和刨冰或削冰，就是你们现在吃的这些夏日清凉解渴圣品了。不但这样，仙草还可以降低血压，治疗淋病及肾脏病呢！”

“哇！真奇妙呀！”

1981年10月10日自立晚报副刊

1982年365一日一小品

1982年1月5日中国小品文精选

Mesona   Hsu ChiCheng

“It’s so hot, may we have a cup of mesona ice, how good it is!”

“Yes! It could be better!…Wow, it’s there, lo! That way beside the road…”

“Well! Let’s go!”

“Wei! How to produce mesona ice? What is the image? Do you know?”

“I don’t know!”

“May we ask the shopkeeper!”

“As to mesona! They are also called sian uncle, leung fun cho, fairy grass, sian jelly etc, spread everywhere in mountainous area and beside the road, are annuals, they all cape with hairs divide into knot on stem, red brown in colour, the leaves are oval to ellipse, there are sawtooth in the edge, there are smooth or some hairs on the half of the upper face, and there are hairs spread scatter on below face, blossom in summer and winter, florescence grows on top or armpit, clock shape in calyx, two flower lips, it’s longer in upper lip, tube shape in corolla, light purple, four pieces of pistil, two long, two short, style flat and plane, two divides in the head… In fact, these explanation you may not know, well, this is it, you may know as you see.”

“Wow, so unconspicuous!”

“Not look down upon them! Take their stem and leaves to stew juice, add some starch and stalk oil, they will become black and purple of agar –like things, cut them into block, add sugar water and ice, frappe , they are the sainthood to cool and quench you in summer and you eat now. Not only thus, mesona can low down blood pressure, heal gonorrhea and chronic kidney disease!”

“Wow, how wonderful!” @

责任编辑：林芳宇