Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Unani
Elecampane (Inula racemosa), of the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. Robust perennial herb, stout basal leaves and large yellow daisy flower-heads on a tall stem; native range: Himalaya — Kashmir, Himachal and the western Tibetan borderlands, on open alpine slopes at 1500–4200 m. Globally recognized as pushkaramula / pushkara in Sanskrit, pohkarmool / puskarmul in Hindi, tu mu xiang (土木香); zang mu xiang (藏木香) in Chinese, Pohkarmool in Arabic, and Indian elecampane, Himalayan elecampane, orris-rooted inula in English. The part used is root and rhizome. Thick brown aromatic root, warm and camphoraceous-bitter on the tongue with a costus-like scent from its sesquiterpene lactones.
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.
ELECAMPANE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Elecampane
- Scientific name
- Inula racemosa Hook. f.
- Family
- Asteraceae (Compositae)
Form
- Part used
- root and rhizome
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent · bitter
- Ayurveda
- pungent · bitter (katu-tikta)
- Unani
- pungent · bitter
Temperature
TCM: warm
Ayurveda: heating (ushna)
Unani: hot & dry (3rd degree)
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses converge — a warming, qi-moving root in every tradition that names it
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Spleen · Stomach · Liver
- Unani
- heart · lungs · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- regulates qi and relieves pain, harmonizes the middle and strengthens the spleen, disperses cold distension and food stagnation
- Ayurveda
- shwasahara-kasahara (quells cough and asthma), hridya (cardiac tonic), dipana-pachana (kindles digestion), kapha-vata-hara, vedanasthapana (relieves pain)
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-qalb (cardiac tonic), munaffis-e-balgham (expectorant), muhallil (resolvent), musakkin-e-alam (analgesic), kaasir-e-riyah (carminative)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- high pitta and heat states, a bleeding tendency; large doses in pregnancy
- Toxicity
- generally well tolerated in dose; large amounts may irritate the stomach, and the sesquiterpene lactones can rarely provoke contact dermatitis
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.