Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Sessile joyweed (Alternanthera sessilis), of the Amaranthaceae family. Prostrate or trailing herb rooting at the nodes, with small sessile leaves and white axillary flower-heads; native range: wet ground, ditches and paddy margins throughout tropical India and Asia. Globally recognized as matsyakshi · matsyakshika in Sanskrit, ponnanganni in Tamil, and sessile joyweed, dwarf copperleaf in English. The part used is whole plant, leaves. Mild, faintly bitter and mucilaginous greens.
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.
SESSILE JOYWEED
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- sessile joyweed
- Scientific name
- Alternanthera sessilis (L.) R.Br. ex DC.
- Family
- Amaranthaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole plant, leaves
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta) · astringent (kashaya)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (shita)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- chakshushya (benefits the eyes), pitta-shamaka (cooling), and used as a nourishing pot-herb
Cautions
- Toxicity
- none of note in customary food use
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