Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Indian cherry (Cordia dichotoma), of the Boraginaceae family. Small deciduous tree bearing clustered drupes; native range: Tropical Asia, from the Indian subcontinent to Australia and the western Pacific. Globally recognized as shleshmataka in Sanskrit, lasora in Hindi, sapistan / sabestan in Arabic, and glue berry, sebesten, clammy cherry in English. The part used is fruit and bark. Small yellow-to-pink drupes with a translucent, intensely sticky sweet pulp around a single stone.
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.
INDIAN CHERRY
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Indian cherry
- Scientific name
- Cordia dichotoma G.Forst.
- Family
- Boraginaceae
Form
- Part used
- fruit and bark
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet · astringent (madhura, kashaya)
- Unani
- sweet
Temperature
Ayurveda: cooling (shita)
Unani: temperate (inclining to cold and moist)
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses read it cool and moist — a demulcent, phlegm-soothing nature
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- lungs · stomach · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- demulcent (shleshmala), mild laxative, expectorant and wound-healing
- Unani
- demulcent (mulattif), expectorant (munzij-e-balgham) and laxative (mulayyin)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- weak digestion with abundant cold phlegm and diarrhoea
- Toxicity
- essentially a food; excess may cloy and loosen the bowels
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