Witnessed by: TCM
Hypericum (Hypericum japonicum), of the Hypericaceae family. Small annual or short-lived perennial of damp lowland ground; native range: wet fields and paddy margins across southern China and East Asia. Globally recognized as tian ji huang (田基黄) in Chinese, and Japanese St. John's wort in English. The part used is whole herb. Slender four-angled stems bearing tiny gland-dotted leaves and small yellow flowers, faintly bitter and cooling on the tongue.
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.
HYPERICUM
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- hypericum
- Scientific name
- Hypericum japonicum Thunb.
- Family
- Hypericaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole herb
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet · bitter
Temperature
- TCM
- cool
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Gallbladder
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat, resolves dampness, cools the blood, relieves toxicity
Cautions
- Contraindications
- caution in Spleen and Stomach cold from deficiency
- Toxicity
- none significant at customary dose
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.