Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Purple fleabane (Centratherum anthelminticum), of the Asteraceae family. Erect annual herb with purple thistle-like flower-heads; native range: waste ground, fallow fields and roadsides across India. Globally recognized as vanya jiraka / aranya jiraka in Sanskrit, kalijiri in Hindi, kali ziri in Arabic, and somraj, black cumin of the fields in English. The part used is seed. Small, dark, ribbed seeds of an intensely bitter, acrid, faintly aromatic taste.
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.
PURPLE FLEABANE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Purple fleabane
- Scientific name
- Centratherum anthelminticum (L.) Kuntze
- Family
- Asteraceae
Form
- Part used
- seed
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter · pungent (tikta, katu)
- Unani
- bitter · pungent
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (3rd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- stomach · intestines · skin
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- krimighna (anthelmintic), kushthaghna (cleanses skin disease), dipana-pachana (digestive), kapha-vata-hara, lekhana (scraping)
- Unani
- qatil-e-deedan (anthelmintic), jali (detergent), mufatteh-e-sudad (deobstruent), dafe-e-bahaq (clears blemishes)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- high pitta and heat states, hyperacidity; pregnancy
- Toxicity
- large doses irritate the stomach and may cause nausea
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