A traditional forest vegetable in China for more than 2,500 years, bamboo shoots are not only delicious but are also rich in nutrients, and rank among the five most popular healthcare foods in the world. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Bamboo shoots, sugar beets, pseudo-ginseng and leaves Radix isatidis (banlangen in Chinese) are the most popular.

"They have nutrients which winter food is low in, such as vitamins," Zhang says.

Nowadays, both xiangchun and jicai are cultivated and are available in vegetable markets throughout the year.

Zhang Meimei, 27, from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, is a Chinese student in the US. She becomes increasingly homesick in spring, thinking about all the wild plants her family usually uses in cooking.

One dish she particularly misses is qingmingguo.

The dish is made of glutinous rice and a special wild herb called qing, which is only available in early spring.

After collecting the herb, fans wash and grind it, and then knead it with glutinous rice powder into small balls. These can be stuffed with sesame or radish, and steamed.

When ready, the rice balls will turn a beautiful green color. The dish is a must-try in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces around the recent Qingming Festival, otherwise known as Tomb-sweeping Day.

In spring, many people go to the wilderness to dig for wild herbs.

However, botanist Shi Jun says the belief that wild edible plants are more nutrient-rich than cultivated vegetables is wrong, and he suggests people only eat plants that are familiar to them and not eat plants that have grown in a polluted environment.