The plant with the beautiful name “fish mint” (German “Molchschwanz” = newt’s tail) has a quite unique, strong taste, which certainly not everyone likes. The fish note in it is more or less intense, often dominated by a different, indefinable mixture of aromas, sometimes compared to citrus fruits or coriander.

Fish mint is used as a leaf vegetable, but almost only mixed with other ingredients in vegetable dishes, salads and curries. The heart-shaped, usually dark green leaves also are used as an edible garnish. Occasionally, especially in Korea and Japan, they are even eaten dried as herbal tea. The rhizome has a delicate consistency and is also very tasty, like the leaves it can be used as a seasoning ingredient in curries, chutneys and stews.

There are colorful foliage varieties that are appreciated as ornamental plants.

• Edible Leaves
• Culinary Group Leaf vegetables
• Taste aromatic
• Trivial Names Molchschwanz, Eidechsenschwanz, Herzförmige Houttuynie, Fish mint, Fish leaf, Fish wort, Heart leaf, Chinese lizard tail, Bishop's weed, Myrdoh, Diếp cá
• Size 25 cm
• Taxonomy Saururaceae (Lizard's-tail family) Houttuynia cordata
• Origin Himalaya, South-Asia, East-Asia, Farther India (Map)
• Locality Wissenschaftsgarten Frankfurt (FRG) 2017