Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda
Dwarf morning-glory (Evolvulus alsinoides), of the Convolvulaceae family. Prostrate silky-haired perennial herb of spreading wiry stems; native range: pantropical on dry open ground; common through India, southern China and Southeast Asia. Globally recognized as vishnukranta / shankhapushpi in Sanskrit, shankhahuli in Hindi, tu ding gui (土丁桂) in Chinese, and slender dwarf morning-glory, speedwell in English. The part used is whole plant. Slender grey-silky stems set with tiny leaves and solitary pale-blue five-lobed flowers; faintly bitter and near-scentless, drying to a hay-like whole.
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.
DWARF MORNING-GLORY
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Dwarf morning-glory
- Scientific name
- Evolvulus alsinoides (L.) L.
- Family
- Convolvulaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole plant
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · sweet
- Ayurveda
- bitter · astringent (tikta, kashaya)
Temperature
- TCM
- cool
- Ayurveda
- cooling (shita)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Large Intestine · Liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat, resolves damp-toxicity, cools the blood and stops cough and dysentery
- Ayurveda
- medhya (nootropic), rasayana, balances the doshas, kindles memory and calms the mind, febrifuge
Cautions
- Contraindications
- cold, depleted digestion; use warming adjuvants in those of weak agni
- Toxicity
- none of note in customary dose
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