Witnessed by: Western
Broom (Cytisus scoparius), of the Fabaceae family. Erect deciduous shrub with green five-angled whip-like branches, nearly leafless; native range: heaths and sandy waste ground of western and central Europe. Globally recognized as Scotch broom, common broom, besom in English. The part used is flowering tops. Green tops with a bitter, disagreeable taste and faint honeyed scent from the bright pea-flowers.
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.
BROOM
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- broom
- Scientific name
- Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link
- Family
- Fabaceae
Form
- Part used
- flowering tops
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- bitter · acrid
Temperature
- Western
- warm (and drying)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- heart · circulation · kidneys · bladder
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- cardioactive, diuretic, vasoconstrictor, oxytocic, cathartic
Cautions
Contraindications: pregnancy, hypertension, and atrioventricular block; not for self-medication
Toxicity: contains sparteine and related quinolizidine alkaloids and the amine tyramine; overdose depresses the heart and respiration
Interactions
- Western
- MAO inhibitors: tyramine content may precipitate a hypertensive crisis · cardiac glycosides: additive effects on cardiac rhythm and contractility · antihypertensives: vasoconstrictor action may oppose blood-pressure control
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