Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Riddhi orchid (Habenaria intermedia), of the Orchidaceae family. Terrestrial Himalayan orchid rising from a fleshy tuber, with broad basal leaves and a spike of white-green spurred flowers; native range: grassy slopes and open forest of the temperate western Himalaya. Globally recognized as ṛddhi in Sanskrit, riddhi in Hindi, and riddhi orchid in English. The part used is tuber. Small pale fleshy tuber, mucilaginous when cut, the taste plainly sweet and slightly slimy.
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.
RIDDHI
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- riddhi orchid
- Scientific name
- Habenaria intermedia D.Don
- Family
- Orchidaceae
Form
- Part used
- tuber
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet (madhura)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (shita)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- jivaniya (vitalising), brimhana (building and nourishing), balya (strengthening), vrishya (aphrodisiac and generative), daha-prashamana (allays burning), shukrala (raises the seed)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- kapha disorders, ama and feeble digestion — the sweet mucilaginous tuber is heavy and slow to digest
- Toxicity
- low in customary use
- Sourcing status
- cites-ii
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