Crab Legs - Pang Xie Jiao 螃蟹脚
A parasitic plant called “crab legs” with strong medicinal potential is found on old tea trees throughout Yunnan. Locals say that crab legs extract the aura and essence from the old tea trees that these tree creatures have been creating for hundreds to thousands of years. The popular name “crab legs” is Visum liquidambaricolum Hayata (Viscum articulatum Burm.f.), a plant belonging to the mistletoe family of the Viscum genus. Crab legs are parasites on older tea trees.
Crab legs are green (after picking and drying, they turn brownish-yellow), shaped like a small coral with fine hairs that look like crab legs, hence the name. They typically grow in the ancient tea forest in the Lancang River basin, which is the main Puer tea producing area. In the Puer tea industry, crab legs in the ancient tea forest of Jingmai Mountain are ranked highest in terms of quality. Jingmai crab legs do not parasitize either the commonly found Liquidambar formosana trees or Aluerite fordii trees, but only appear on old tea trees. Crab legs are a parasite shaped into several sections, typically a flat rod similar to the rush Juncus effusus, 7-10 cm long, with a solid medium inside.
Adding crab legs to tea will improve the taste of the tea, integrate the quality, and make the tea fuller, silkier, and sweeter.
In the Puer tea community, the term “crab legs” (Pang Xie Jiao 螃蟹脚) is quite familiar to most tea enthusiasts. In the past, when traveling to various tea markets in Kunming, it was not uncommon to encounter some tea companies using this plant. Some tea company owners even combined “crab legs” with Puer green tea for brewing and tasting. So, what exactly are crab legs? What are their properties? Where are they mainly produced? What are their effects, contraindications and uses? How did they become popular in the Puer tea market?
What are the Crab Legs?
The term "crab legs" literally refers to something that looks like crab legs, which is actually a parasitic plant resembling crab legs. In addition to its Chinese name Pang Xie Jiao 螃蟹脚, it is also known by other names such as maple mistletoe, tung mistletoe, and red camphor mistletoe.
What are the characteristics of crab legs?
According to the Chinese encyclopedia Baidu Baike, crab legs is a shrubby plant with a height of 0.5 to 0.7 meters. The base of the stem is almost cylindrical, with flat branches and small twigs. The branches are either cross-opposite or forked, with internodes 2 to 4 centimeters long and 4 to 8 millimeters wide. The edges of the branches are thickened, with 5 to 7 longitudinal ribs. The leaves are reduced to scale-like structures.
Additionally, the shape and color of crab legs fruits vary depending on the different characteristics of the host plants. For example, crab legs parasitic on maple trees have oval fruits that turn orange-red when ripe, while those parasitic on tung trees have oval fruits that turn yellow when mature.
Main production areas and distribution of crab legs
In China, the main production areas of crab legs are Yunnan, Fujian and Taiwan. There are also distributions in Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Hubei, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang. Outside China, crab legs can also be found in Nepal, northeast India, northern Thailand, northern Vietnam, Malaysia and Java, Indonesia.
What are the benefits and effects of crab legs?
The greatest value of crab legs lies in their health benefits to the human body. In traditional Chinese medicine, they are mainly used to treat gastrointestinal problems (such as stomach ailments) and urinary tract infections. Local people in the Yunnan mountains use wild crab legs as a medicine for coughs and phlegm. The most common preparation is to steep them as a tea, or they can be fried and then consumed.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, crab legs are cold in nature, slightly sour in taste, and offer a sweet and refreshing aftertaste. In dried form, they have a distinct herbal character. Chinese medicine describes crab legs in very old documents and states that they have detoxifying properties, aid digestion, purify bile, lower blood lipids and blood pressure, and have remarkable effects on the treatment of gastrointestinal problems and urinary tract infections. Furthermore, ancient Chinese medicine books say that regular consumption can prevent vascular sclerosis, eliminate fatigue, and prolong life. Combined with Puer tea, crab legs offer other medicinal qualities, such as relieving stomach pain and preventing cancer.
What are the health benefits of crab legs?
Crab legs are considered a "treasure" in medicine, and the entire plant is used for medicinal purposes. As in every country, "old wives' advice" has been passed down from generation to generation in China, claiming that crab legs can treat rheumatic joint pain, muscle tension, and remove wind and dampness. For example, tea farmers in Simao, Yunnan, use crab legs to treat acute cystitis.
How to prepare crab legs?
Due to the uniqueness of crab legs and their relative rarity in the Puer tea market, there are many individual methods of preparing crab legs based on experiments and personal experience. The most common preparation method is steeping in the same way as making tea, and it is recommended to steep crab legs together with green Puer tea. The prepared infusion has a yellow-green color with a light herbal medicinal aroma and a distinct smooth aftertaste.
What are the contraindications for crab legs?
According to traditional Chinese medicine, due to the cold nature of crab legs, it is recommended that people with cold constitutions should not consume them in excess. Pregnant women should also be careful. No other specific contraindications have been identified.
What is the relationship between crab legs and Yunnan Puer tea?
In the Puer tea community, crab legs that parasitize old tea plants are often referred to as “Puer crab legs.” However, crab legs are not a tea product or category in the context of Puer tea. Rather, they are an herbal product and a great complement to Puer green tea, both in terms of taste and health benefits.
How much do crab legs cost?
The price of crab legs varies depending on market conditions and quality. Crab legs parasitic on old tea trees are much more expensive than those parasitic on other plants due to their rarity. The price of crab legs is generally considered moderate considering their unavailability and health benefits.
Crab legs from old tea trees are rare and valuable, comparable in rarity to snow lotus and cordyceps. They offer significant medicinal and health qualities and are considered the “tea mushroom” in the traditional medicine industry. The highest quality crab legs come from the ancient Jingmai Tea Forest in the Puer region of Yunnan, which boasts a pristine environment ideal for their growth.