Witnessed by: TCM · Unani
Morning glory (Ipomoea nil), of the Convolvulaceae family. Twining annual vine with heart-shaped leaves and funnel-shaped blue to purple flowers; native range: pantropical twining vine, widely naturalised across Asia. Globally recognized as qian niu zi (牽牛子) in Chinese, habb-un-neel in Arabic, and Japanese morning glory, pharbitis seed in English. The part used is seed. Small angular black or fawn seeds, hard and near-scentless, with an acrid, oily and bitter 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.
MORNING GLORY
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Morning glory
- Scientific name
- Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth
- Family
- Convolvulaceae
Form
- Part used
- seed
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter
- Unani
- bitter · acrid
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
- Unani
- hot & dry (3rd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Kidney · Large Intestine
- Unani
- intestines · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- drives out water and drains downward, purges accumulation and phlegm, and expels parasites
- Unani
- mus-hil-e-qavi (strong purgative), qatil wa mukhrij-e-deedan (kills and expels worms), muhallil
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy, and weakness or deficiency without excess accumulation; incompatible with ba dou (croton) in TCM
- Toxicity
- a drastic irritant purge — overdose causes violent purging, abdominal pain, bloody stool, and toxicity to the kidney and nervous system
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.