Witnessed by: TCM
Anemarrhena (Anemarrhena asphodeloides), of the Asparagaceae family. Grass-like perennial with a knotted creeping rhizome; native range: dry grasslands and sunny slopes of northern China and Mongolia. Globally recognized as zhi mu (知母) in Chinese. The part used is rhizome. Flattened yellow-brown rhizome fringed with hair-like rootlets, mucilaginous and bitter with a cooling sweet undertone.
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.
ANEMARRHENA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- anemarrhena
- Scientific name
- Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge
- Family
- Asparagaceae
Form
- Part used
- rhizome
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · sweet
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Stomach · Kidney
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat, drains fire, nourishes yin, moistens dryness, relieves steaming bone fever
Cautions
- Contraindications
- avoid in Spleen and Stomach cold with loose stools
- Toxicity
- non-toxic; its cold cloying nature can burden a weak digestion
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