Witnessed by: Unani
Hazelnut (Corylus avellana), of the Betulaceae family. Suckering deciduous shrub or small tree bearing catkins before the leaf; native range: woods and hedgerows of Europe and western Asia, from Britain to the Caucasus and northern Iran. Globally recognized as bunduq in Arabic, funduq in Persian, maghz-e-funduq (the kernel) in Urdu, and hazelnut, filbert, cobnut in English. The part used is kernel (the seed of the nut). A rounded pale kernel in a hard brown shell, its thin skin bitterish, the flesh sweet, oily and mild, faintly astringent when the skin is left on.
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.
HAZELNUT
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- hazelnut
- Scientific name
- Corylus avellana L.
- Family
- Betulaceae
Form
- Part used
- kernel (the seed of the nut)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Unani
- sweet · oily
Temperature
- Unani
- hot (1st degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- brain · nerves · stomach · lungs
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-dimagh (brain tonic), muqawwi-e-bah (aphrodisiac), mughalliz-e-mani (thickens the semen), muqawwi-e-badan (general tonic), munzij wa mukhrij-e-balgham (ripens and expels phlegm from the chest)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- weak digestion and stomach, the oily kernel being slow and heavy to digest
- Toxicity
- no toxicity of note; a common food allergen, and gross excess is dyspeptic
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