Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Unani

Prickly chaff flower (Achyranthes aspera), of the Amaranthaceae family. Erect stiff herb with quadrangular stems and reflexed, clinging flower-spikes; native range: pantropical weed of the Old World tropics; a roadside plant throughout India, China and the Middle East. Globally recognized as apamarga / shikhari in Sanskrit, chirchita / latjira in Hindi, tu niu xi (土牛膝) in Chinese, chirchita in Arabic, and devil's horsewhip · rough chaff-flower in English. The part used is whole plant, root, seed and the ash-derived alkali. Harsh and rough to the touch, near-tasteless at first then acrid and biting on the tongue, the bristled spikes catching the skin.

In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.

PRICKLY CHAFF FLOWER

IDENTITY

Name

Common: Prickly chaff flower
Scientific name: Achyranthes aspera L.
Family: Amaranthaceae

Form

Part used: whole plant, root, seed and the ash-derived alkali

PROPERTIES

Nature

Taste

how the plant declares itself on the tongue

TCM: bitter · sour
Ayurveda: pungent · bitter (katu , tikta)
Unani: pungent · bitter, acrid

Temperature

TCM: cool
Ayurveda: heating (ushna)
Unani: hot & dry (2nd degree)

Affinity

where in the body it travels

Organs / channels

TCM: Liver · Kidney
Unani: stomach · liver · kidneys

PRACTICE

Virtue

Actions

TCM: dispels blood stasis, benefits the throat, clears heat and resolves toxicity, promotes urination
Ayurveda: dipana-pachana (digestive), kapha-vata-hara, chhedana (cuts phlegm), krimighna (anthelmintic), shophahara (reduces dropsy), the kshara lekhana (scraping)
Unani: mudirr-e-baul (diuretic), mohallil (resolvent), jali (detergent), mudammid (cicatrisant)

Cautions

Contraindications: pregnancy (an emmenagogue and abortifacient in quantity); high pitta and acidity
Toxicity: large doses of seed provoke vomiting; the alkali irritates mucosa

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