Witnessed by: Unani
Cashew (Anacardium occidentale), of the Anacardiaceae family. Spreading evergreen tree with a fleshy pear-shaped false-fruit bearing a kidney-shaped nut; native range: coastal north-eastern Brazil, long naturalised across the Indian littoral. Globally recognized as baladur-e-firangi in Persian, habb al-fahm in Arabic, kaju in Hindi, and cashew nut, cashew apple in English. The part used is kernel, shell-oil (acrid), and the astringent bark. Sweet oily kernel; the raw shell yields a blistering black caustic oil that must never touch the lips undiluted.
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.
CASHEW
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- cashew
- Scientific name
- Anacardium occidentale L.
- Family
- Anacardiaceae
Form
- Part used
- kernel, shell-oil (acrid), and the astringent bark
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Unani
- sweet · oily (kernel), acrid (shell-oil)
Temperature
- Unani
- hot (2nd degree, dry)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- brain · nerves · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-dimagh (brain tonic), muqawwi-e-bah (aphrodisiac), muqawwi-e-asab (nervine), mughalliz-e-mani (thickens semen); the shell-oil is muhallil and jaali (caustic, counter-irritant)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- hot and bilious temperaments; the shell-oil forbidden internally and near mucous membranes
- Toxicity
- raw shell-oil is a violent vesicant raising blisters on contact
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.