Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa), of the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. Annual or biennial herb of a leafy rosette that bolts to a tall flowering stem; native range: of ancient cultivation, derived from the wild lettuce of the Mediterranean and western Asia. Globally recognized as kahu (خس) in Arabic, salad in Hindi, and garden lettuce, salad lettuce in English. The part used is leaves, seed and the milky juice (lactucarium). Crisp, watery green leaves, mild and bland; the cut stem of the bolting plant bleeds a white latex, bitter and faintly narcotic in scent.
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.
LETTUCE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- lettuce
- Scientific name
- Lactuca sativa L.
- Family
- Asteraceae (Compositae)
Form
- Part used
- leaves, seed and the milky juice (lactucarium)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- bland · bitter
- Unani
- bland · sweet
Temperature
Western: cold (and moist)
Unani: cold (2nd degree, and moist)
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses converge — a cold, moist, calming plant in each
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- nervous system · nerves · heart
- Unani
- brain · nerves
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- sedative, soporific, anodyne and refrigerant, and anaphrodisiac; the milky lactucarium a mild narcotic
- Unani
- muraqqid (soporific), musakkin (sedative), mubarrid (refrigerant) and kasir-e-bah (subduing the sexual appetite)
Cautions
Contraindications: cold and phlegmatic constitutions; large narcotic doses of the lactucarium
Toxicity: the concentrated latex in excess may cause stupor and heaviness; the salad itself is harmless
Interactions
- Western
- sedatives / CNS depressants: additive mild sedation from the lactucarium
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