Truong Son wild vegetables

To ensure the daily supply of green vegetables for 720,000 soldiers and youth volunteers in the fierce war and difficult supply conditions, exploiting natural green vegetable sources was a direction determined by the General Department of Logistics from the early days of "going without traces, cooking without smoke".

In 1963, Professor Tu Giay and Doctor Vu Van Can led a working group from the Military Food Department and 11 other working groups to Truong Son to research and study. The groups investigated 620 types of vegetables, 433 types of fruits, tubers, seeds, and 144 types of edible mushrooms, seaweeds, and mosses.

Of these, there are 79 types for cooking sour soup, 125 types of tubers, fruits, and seeds that can be eaten instead of rice, 48 types of vegetables for seasoning, 79 types of herbs for steaming, rubbing, relieving colds, treating skin diseases, using plant antibiotics, and applying to wounds (of which 14 types are classified as especially rare). The book "Wild Vegetable Handbook" edited by Dr. Tu Giay was urgently published for the first time (in 1963) with 16,000 copies.

The book size is reduced to 9x12cm for easy pocketing. Each type of vegetable, fruit, seaweed, and mushroom has a picture for easy recognition. The book has been reprinted dozens of times, helping soldiers and Youth Volunteers on the road to collect a large source of medicinal herbs and vegetables, contributing to increasing the number of healthy soldiers participating in combat and opening up routes for transporting goods.

Nguyen Khac Thuan