Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Axlewood (Anogeissus latifolia), of the Combretaceae family. Medium deciduous tree of stony hill slopes; native range: dry deciduous forests of the Indian subcontinent. Globally recognized as dhava in Sanskrit, dhawa, dhaura in Hindi, and axlewood, ghatti gum tree in English. The part used is bark, gum (exudate), leaves. Grey fissured bark with a dry, tongue-gripping astringency; the pale gum swells to a soft mucilage in water.
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.
AXLEWOOD
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- axlewood
- Scientific name
- Anogeissus latifolia (Roxb. ex DC.) Wall. ex Guill. & Perr.
- Family
- Combretaceae
Form
- Part used
- bark, gum (exudate), leaves
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- astringent (kashaya) · bitter (tikta)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (sheeta virya)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- astringent (stambhana), wound-healing (vranaropana), blood-arresting (raktastambhana), anti-diarrhoeal (grahi)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- excess dries the tissues and may aggravate vata and constipation; use cautiously in the debilitated
- Toxicity
- no significant toxicity at customary doses
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