Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Spreading hogweed (Boerhavia diffusa), of the Nyctaginaceae family. Prostrate spreading perennial herb with slender pink-stemmed branches from a stout root; native range: pantropical weed of waste ground and roadsides across India, Africa and the warmer world. Globally recognized as punarnava · raktapunarnava in Sanskrit, punarnava / gadahpurna / itsit in Hindi, itsit in Arabic, and red spiderling, tarvine, hogweed in English. The part used is root and whole plant. A tough, pale root with a sweetish-bitter, faintly nauseous taste; the succulent stems run flat along the ground with small pink flowers.
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.
SPREADING HOGWEED
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Spreading hogweed
- Scientific name
- Boerhavia diffusa L.
- Family
- Nyctaginaceae
Form
- Part used
- root and whole plant
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet (madhura) · bitter (tikta) · astringent (kashaya)
- Unani
- bitter · astringent
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- kidneys · liver · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- shothahara (anti-oedematous), mutrala (diuretic), hridya (cardiac tonic), dipana, rasayana
- Unani
- mudir-e-baul (diuretic), muhallil-e-waram (resolvent of swellings), mushil (mild purge)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- high pitta and dehydration; caution in pregnancy in medicinal dose
- Toxicity
- large doses may cause vomiting and are mildly purgative
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