VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese call this weed as “co nhung.” while its scientific name Zoysia tenuifolia Trin. The plant has a magical effect which Vietnamese have just found: it can help recreate cells, especially liver cells.

Tran Ngoc Lam, who has become well known in Vietnam with the nickname “forester,” who traveled up hill and down dale to look for the herbs to treat his incurable disease, was the discoverer of co nhung.

Seven years ago, Lam usually picked up some kinds of weed to make soup for himself when he went to the forests. He cherished the small heart-shaped leaves, purple blue, with iridescent fibers like sparkles.

At that time, no one in Vietnam knew about the kind of weed, while it was not mentioned in any botanical books. And Lam gave a name to the weed “kim tuyen”, which means “silver lame.”

Lam then found out that the weed was a very precious plant. He said this was the second important element in the remedy to treat his cancer.

“It is really a panacea,” he said. “When I ate soup with kim tuyen, I found my strength recover very quickly. Sometimes when I got tired in the trips to the forests, and I could not walk, I just needed to chew some leaves of kim tuyen and continued my journeys.”

Lam recalled the day when he climbed to the mountain and found the weed at the height of 2800 meters; he burst into crying because he believed the kind of weed would rescue him. Then he picked up the weed, cleaned them and chewed the weed. And his health recovered quickly.

A reporter, with whom Lam shared the information about the strange weed, decided to bring some plants to Hanoi and show to some experts. However, at that time, no one knew about the weed. Some of them even said it did not have any effects.

The reporter once led Dr. Nguyen Huu Trong to Sa Pa, so that he could see with his eyes the previous weed, but Trong himself did not have knowledge about the plant.

While Vietnamese remain indifferent to the weed, Chinese have discovered the magical effects of the weed and have been hunting for it in Vietnam.

While Vietnamese merchants hurriedly collect the weed, paying millions of dong for every kilo of fresh co nhung, Vietnamese scientists still affirm on local newspapers that the weed do not have medical effects.

Lam, who spent years living and working in China, affirmed that he knows Chinese are the “tartar” in herbal medicine, and that it’s not by chance Chinese people hunt for co nhung.

Many years ago, Lam decided to keep secret about co nhung in Sa Pa, because he feared that the information would prompt Vietnamese to root up the weed to sell to Chinese.

However, Lam has changed his mind, when it’s more and more difficult to find co nhung plant in Hoang Lien Son forest.

Some years ago, Chinese discovered the weed in Hoang Lien Son, and their hired Mong minority people to pull up the weed to sell to them. Just within one year, co nhung in Hoang Lien Son forest disappeared.

At first, Chinese paid VND50,000 a kilo, and then VND100,000 and now VND5 million. Lam feels a great sorrow, when the panacea has been carried across the border to China, while Vietnamese people need the herb to treat their diseases.

US$1=VND21,000

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