Witnessed by: Western
Pichi (Fabiana imbricata), of the Solanaceae family. Resinous heath-like shrub with tiny overlapping scale-leaves crowding the twigs and white to violet tubular flowers; native range: dry Andean slopes and stony hillsides of Chile and Argentina. Globally recognized as pichi-pichi, false heath in English. The part used is leafy twigs. Aromatic resinous twigs with a balsamic scent and a bitter, terebinthine taste.
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.
PICHI
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- pichi
- Scientific name
- Fabiana imbricata Ruiz & Pav.
- Family
- Solanaceae
Form
- Part used
- leafy twigs
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- bitter · aromatic
Temperature
- Western
- warm (and drying)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- bladder · kidneys · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- diuretic, urinary antiseptic, cholagogue, bitter tonic, hepatic
Cautions
- Contraindications
- avoid in pregnancy and in acute inflammatory kidney disease
- Toxicity
- low at therapeutic dose; as a member of the nightshade family it should not be used in excess
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