In late August, it often rains in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. After a rain, the reporter arrived at the village group of Daka Laozhai in Daka Village, Mengla County. Not long after entering a small hill, green grass with raindrops came into view, and the fragrance emitted permeated the entire hillside. This is flea grass, almost every household in our village has planted it The leader of the village group in Daka Laozhai, Qian Zhou, told reporters that his family has planted about 8 acres. What is the origin of this flea grass? What charm does it have? It is understood that flea grass, also known as Mengla Mao Musk, has a unique and fresh aroma and is a herbaceous plant deeply loved by the local ethnic minority Hani. These grasses have been used by our Hani people for generations. We will dry them and lay them on the bed or wear them on our bodies to drive away fleas, mosquitoes, and avoid being bitten. These grasses are therefore called flea grasses Song Zhou, Secretary of the Party General Branch and Director of the Village Committee in Daka Village, said. However, for a long time, flea grass was only known and utilized by locals, mainly growing in the wild. Since 2017, the scientific researchers of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have introduced varieties from surrounding areas for many times, and finally succeeded in trial planting in Dakalaozhai, realizing large-scale planting, opening more space for the use of flea grass and making it known to more people. A new path for the development of a characteristic planting industry has been opened: with the support of the government, research institutes, and enterprises, Daka Laozhai has gradually achieved the artificial cultivation and medicinal value transformation of flea grass; The flea grass essential oil produced by villagers has been developed into a series of mosquito repellent and itch relieving products, which have been well received by the market. Sewing flea grass into embroidered sachets and putting it into accessories and pendants with ethnic characteristics... At the flea grass farmer planting professional cooperative in Daka Laozhai, the reporter saw that skilled and capable villagers fully utilized their creativity to produce various "peripheral products" and tried to sell them offline and online. After exploring this new model, women and elderly people who have not gone out to work in the village will come to the cooperative to work, earn money to subsidize their families, and strive to broaden their path to wealth Liu Zhifang, the leader of the flea grass industry in Daka Laozhai, said. It has become our 'wealth grass' Song Zhou told reporters that a series of planting, processing, and production activities around flea grass have become a major pillar industry in the village. A set of data highlights the "golden" effect of flea grass: In 2023, a total of 93 households in Daka Laozhai participated in flea grass planting, covering an area of 700 acres, and extracted 750 kilograms of flea grass essential oil, increasing farmers' income by 1.76 million yuan. After interviewing multiple villagers, the reporter felt that the significance of planting flea grass is diverse and rich: it not only protects the local ecology and promotes economic development, but also allows the preservation and inheritance of local ethnic traditional culture. The "rebirth" of flea grass is not accidental. Yunnan, known as the "Kingdom of Plants," "Kingdom of Animals," and "Garden of the World," has firmly established and practiced the concept of "green mountains and clear waters are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver" in recent years, promoting the simultaneous progress of ecological protection and high-quality development. In the future, more 'green' butterfly transformations will occur in the south of colorful clouds. (New Society)