Witnessed by: TCM
Alisma (Alisma orientale), of the Alismataceae family. Aquatic perennial with a rosette of long-stalked ovate leaves and a corm; native range: marshes, ponds, and paddy margins across China. Globally recognized as ze xie (泽泻) in Chinese, and water plantain, oriental water-plantain in English. The part used is tuber (rhizome). Rounded pale corm, dense and starchy, blandly sweet.
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.
ALISMA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- alisma
- Scientific name
- Alisma orientale (Sam.) Juz.
- Family
- Alismataceae
Form
- Part used
- tuber (rhizome)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet · bland
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Kidney · Bladder
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- promotes urination, drains dampness, clears heat from the Kidney and Bladder, drains deficient fire from the lower burner
Cautions
- Contraindications
- not for urinary problems from Kidney yang deficiency without dampness, nor for damp-cold with seminal loss
- Toxicity
- well tolerated within dose
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