Witnessed by: TCM · Unani
Bamboo (Bambusa tuldoides), of the Poaceae (Gramineae) family. Clumping bamboo with tall green culms; native range: southern China and Indochina. Globally recognized as zhu ru (竹茹) in Chinese, tabashir (طباشير) in Arabic, and bamboo shavings, bamboo manna in English. The part used is the shaved intermediate layer of the stem (zhu ru); also the siliceous manna. Pale green curled shavings, near tasteless, faintly grassy.
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.
BAMBOO
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- bamboo
- Scientific name
- Bambusa tuldoides Munro
- Family
- Poaceae (Gramineae)
Form
- Part used
- the shaved intermediate layer of the stem (zhu ru); also the siliceous manna
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet
- Unani
- astringent · bland
Temperature
- TCM
- cool (slightly cold)
- Unani
- cold & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Stomach · Gallbladder
- Unani
- heart · lungs · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat and resolves phlegm, cools the Stomach and stops vomiting, relieves heat-vexation and restlessness
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-qalb (cardiac tonic), qabiz (astringent), daf-e-humma (antipyretic)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- cold Stomach with vomiting from deficiency-cold
- Toxicity
- none of note
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