Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides), of the Poaceae family. Tall tufted grass with a dense mat of aromatic fibrous roots; native range: riverbanks and wet ground of the Indian plains, widely cultivated. Globally recognized as ushira in Sanskrit, khas / khus in Hindi, khas in Arabic, and khus-khus, cus-cus grass in English. The part used is root. A cool, earthy-sweet, resinous fragrance from the tangled roots, bitter and faintly astringent to 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.
VETIVER
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Vetiver
- Scientific name
- Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty
- Family
- Poaceae
Form
- Part used
- root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet · bitter · astringent (madhura, tikta, kashaya)
- Unani
- bitter · astringent
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (sheeta)
- Unani
- cold & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- heart · stomach · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- dahaghna (relieves burning), trishnaghna (quenches thirst), pittahara, hridya (cardiac), stambhana (astringent) and jvaraghna (antipyretic)
- Unani
- mubarrid (refrigerant), muqawwi-e-qalb (cardiac tonic), qabiz (astringent), dafe-e-atash (allays thirst)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- cold constitutions and kapha states with copious phlegm
- Toxicity
- a mild aromatic; non-toxic in ordinary use
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