五指毛桃

wǔzhǐmáotáo
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 fiveleaf fig (Ficus hirta / Ficus simplicissima)
  2. 2 Cantonese soup root with a coconut-milk aroma; also called 南芪 "southern astragalus"

Examples

Guǎngdōng rén xǐhuan yòng wǔzhǐmáotáo bāo tāng.
Cantonese people like to use fiveleaf fig root to simmer soup.
Zhè guō wǔzhǐmáotáo páigǔ tāng yǒu dàndàn de yēxiāng.
This pork-rib soup with fiveleaf fig root has a subtle coconut aroma.

Tips

culture
A signature ingredient of Cantonese (slow-simmered soups). The name comes from the leaves, which split into five finger-like lobes like a palm (五指). Classified with plants in botany — its presence in an "animal" frequency list reflects TCM/farming co-occurrence rather than any zoological sense.

Stroke Order

zhǐ
máo
táo