Mesona chinensis is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of plants belonging to the genus Mesona

Mesona

Mesona is a genus in the mint family .Exemplar species in this genus are Mesona procumbens Hemsley and Mesona chinensis, generically called xiancao in Mandarin Chinese, sian-chháu in Taiwanese, and leung fan cao in Cantonese, sương sáo in Vietnamese.It is said to be a diuretic, used in Taiwan as...

of the mint family. The species grows extensively in East Asia

East Asia

East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

 such as south east China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 preferring ravines, grassy, dry, and sandy areas. The plants are from 15–100 cm high with hairy stems and leaves. The leaves are tear-drop shaped and serrated.

The plants are referred to as xiancao (仙草, 仙人草, 仙草舅, 涼粉草) in Mandarin Chinese, sian-chháu in Taiwanese, and leung fan cao (涼粉草) in Cantonese, sương sáo in Vietnamese

Vietnamese language

Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...

, หญ้าเฉาก๊วย in Thai

Thai language

Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...

 and primarily cultivated and used in making grass jelly

Grass jelly

Grass jelly, or Leaf jelly, is a jelly-like dessert found in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. It is sold in cans or packets in Asian supermarkets.-Preparation:...

.

Cultivation and processing

M. chinensis are cultivated on flat ground or areas with a slight slope. In Taiwan, this plant is often grown under fruit trees in fruits orchards as a secondary crop. The plant is processed by harvesting all the aerial portions above the root. The portions are then partially dried and piled up in order to allows them to oxidize until they have darkened. After the oxidation, they are then thoroughly dried for sale.