Witnessed by: TCM
Chinese box (Buxus sinica), of the Buxaceae family. Slow-growing evergreen shrub or small tree with small leathery leaves and hard dense wood; native range: hills, thickets and limestone slopes of China. Globally recognized as huangyang (黃楊) · huangyang mu in Chinese, and Chinese box · Chinese boxwood in English. The part used is leaf, tender shoot and root. A hard pale wood and small bitter leaves; the taste bitter and slightly pungent.
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.
CHINESE BOX
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Chinese box
- Scientific name
- Buxus sinica (Rehder & E.H.Wilson) M.Cheng
- Family
- Buxaceae
Form
- Part used
- leaf, tender shoot and root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · pungent
Temperature
- TCM
- neutral
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- dispels wind and dampness, moves qi and blood, and resolves toxicity
Cautions
- Toxicity
- the plant carries steroidal alkaloids and is toxic in overdose; used only in small, controlled amounts
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