Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda
Rangoon creeper (Combretum indicum), of the Combretaceae family. Large woody climbing vine with fragrant clusters of tubular flowers opening white and turning pink to crimson; native range: tropical Asia — from India and Burma through southern China and Malesia; widely planted as an ornamental vine. Globally recognized as madhumalati / madhumanjari in Sanskrit, madhumalti, rangoon-ki-bel in Hindi, shi jun zi (使君子) in Chinese, and Chinese honeysuckle, drunken sailor in English. The part used is ripe fruit and its seed (kernel). The five-angled, dark-brown ripe fruit is dry and pointed; within lies a white oily kernel, sweetish and slightly aromatic, faintly acrid on the tongue.
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.
RANGOON CREEPER
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Rangoon creeper
- Scientific name
- Combretum indicum (L.) DeFilipps
- Family
- Combretaceae
Form
- Part used
- ripe fruit and its seed (kernel)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu) · bitter (tikta)
Temperature
- TCM
- warm
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Spleen · Stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- kills parasites (a chief vermifuge) · strengthens the Spleen and dispels food accumulation, especially childhood nutritional impairment (gan/malnutrition)
- Ayurveda
- krimighna (anthelmintic) · dipana-pachana (kindles digestion and clears ama), anulomana (moves the bowel downward)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- not to be exceeded in dose or given for many days together; caution in weak or very young children
- Toxicity
- Overdose or too many kernels at once causes hiccups (singultus), dizziness, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea — the classic sign of shi jun zi excess. Notably, taking the seeds together with, or followed by, hot tea characteristically provokes hiccups and gastric upset, so tea (and hot drinks) must be avoided around dosing. Symptoms usually pass on stopping the herb.
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