Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Unani
Nut grass (Cyperus rotundus), of the Cyperaceae family. Creeping perennial sedge with triangular stems and a chain of hard underground tubers; native range: a cosmopolitan sedge of warm regions, at home across Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean. Globally recognized as mustaka / musta in Sanskrit, motha / nagarmotha in Hindi, xiang fu (香附) in Chinese, saad kufi (سعد) in Arabic, and nut grass, purple nutsedge, coco-grass in English. The part used is rhizome (tuber). Small dark hard tubers on wiry runners, fragrant and slightly bitter, with a cooling camphor-earth aroma.
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.
NUT GRASS
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Nut grass
- Scientific name
- Cyperus rotundus L.
- Family
- Cyperaceae
Form
- Part used
- rhizome (tuber)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent · bitter · sweet
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu) · bitter (tikta) · astringent (kashaya)
- Unani
- pungent · bitter
Temperature
- TCM
- neutral
- Ayurveda
- cooling (shita)
- Unani
- hot (& dry, 2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Spleen · Triple Burner
- Unani
- stomach · liver · uterus
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- spreads and regulates Liver qi, soothes the Liver and harmonises the Spleen, regulates menstruation and relieves pain — the chief qi-regulator of the blood
- Ayurveda
- dipana-pachana (digestive), grahi (absorbent in diarrhoea), stanya-shodhana (milk-purifier), jvaraghna (antipyretic), kapha-pitta-hara
- Unani
- kaasir-e-riyah (carminative), mudirr-e-haiz (emmenagogue), muqawwi-e-meda (stomachic), mujaffif (desiccant)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- qi and blood deficiency without stagnation; heat from yin deficiency
- Toxicity
- very safe in normal use
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