Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Caper (Capparis spinosa), of the Capparaceae family. Sprawling spiny shrub rooting in bare rock and old masonry; native range: the Mediterranean and Middle East; dry rocky walls, cliffs and stony ground. Globally recognized as kabar / asaf (كبر) in Arabic, kabra / kiari in Hindi, and caper bush, flinders rose in English. The part used is root-bark; the flower-buds and unripe fruit. A pungent, bitter, faintly acrid root-bark; the buds sharp and biting before they are cured.
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.
CAPER
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Caper
- Scientific name
- Capparis spinosa L.
- Family
- Capparaceae
Form
- Part used
- root-bark; the flower-buds and unripe fruit
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- pungent · bitter · acrid
- Unani
- pungent · bitter
Temperature
- Western
- hot
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- spleen · liver · joints
- Unani
- spleen · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- deobstruent, diuretic, expectorant, mild aperient
- Unani
- mufatteh-e-sudad (deobstruent), muhallil-e-warm (resolvent), mudir-e-baul (diuretic), qatil-e-deedan (anthelmintic)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- hot, bilious constitutions and gastric irritation; large doses in pregnancy
- Toxicity
- the fresh root-bark is acrid and can irritate the stomach and the skin
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.