Native Mesona is distributed in piedmont areas around the entire Taiwan. Ancestors in early stage boiled Mesona stem and leaf into tea to be their summer drink. This was the well known Mesona sweet tea or Mesona honey drink.

Food businessmen have developed various healthy drink and food using Mesona, and Taiwanese consumers like these products very much. Therefore, farmers proceed on bigger area planting one by another.

The planting areas of Mesona reach Guanxi Township of Hsinchu County, Sanyi Township, Tongluo Township and Shitan Township of Miaoli County, Ershui Township of Changhua County, Zhongpu Township, and Shuishang Township of Chiayi County and so on.

The total planting areas of Mesona in Taiwan were 185 hectare in 1997 and 155 hectare in 1998 respectively according to the investigation reports of major agriculture and animal husbandry origin in Taiwan. The average hay production is about 800-900 thousand kg. The imported amount is about half of total requisite amount, In other words, the total requisite amount in Taiwan is about 1.6 million kg. There are still rooms for the development.

Data reference for this page

Webpage on Taiwan Organic Information Portal – Mesona organic farming and management provided by the Organic Center of National Ilan University subsidized by Agriculture and Food Agency Council of Agriculture at

http://info.organic.org.tw/supergood/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=4-3&PreView=1

Hu, M.F. “The research and development of traditional local special crops”, Agriculture Policy & Review 91, January 2000, Council of Agriculture.