Fish Mint

Houttuynia cordata, the fish mint, is a herbaceous perennial native to Southeast Asia and East Asia, growing in moist, shady places. It is one of two species in its genus and is named after Martinus Houttuyn. It reaches 0.6 to 1 metre, with heart-shaped leaves and greenish-yellow flowers on a spike with four to six large white bracts. It is regarded as invasive, because it regrows from any segment of its rhizome. The leaf tastes of the volatile oil 3-oxododecanal, often described as fishy. It is eaten as a leaf vegetable and garnish in northeastern India and Vietnam, and its root zhé'ěrgēn is eaten in south-western China. In Japan and Korea the dried leaves are made into an herbal tea. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, but there is no high-quality clinical research confirming that such uses are safe or effective.