Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Ceylon ironwood (Mesua ferrea), of the Calophyllaceae (formerly Clusiaceae / Guttiferae) family. Handsome evergreen tree with drooping crimson young leaves and hard, heavy wood; native range: the wet evergreen forests of the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Globally recognized as nagakeshara / nagakesara / kesara in Sanskrit, nagkesar in Hindi, narmushk (Persian, of Unani use) in Arabic, and Ceylon ironwood; cobra's saffron; iron-wood tree in English. The part used is dried stamens and flowers (nagakesara); seed and its oil. A dense mass of fine, saffron-coloured dried stamens, faintly aromatic, with an astringent, slightly bitter and mouth-drying 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.
CEYLON IRONWOOD
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Ceylon ironwood
- Scientific name
- Mesua ferrea L.
- Family
- Calophyllaceae (formerly Clusiaceae / Guttiferae)
Form
- Part used
- dried stamens and flowers (nagakesara); seed and its oil
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- astringent · bitter (kashaya-tikta)
- Unani
- astringent (qabiz), bitter, aromatic
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- heart · stomach · intestines (a cardiac and stomachic astringent)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- kashaya-stambhana (astringent, styptic), grahi, kaphapittahara, varnya (complexion-improving), krimighna (anthelmintic), a fragrant deodorant
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), habis-ud-dam (styptic), muqawwi-e-qalb (cardiac tonic), muqawwi-e-meda (stomachic), mufarreh (exhilarant), habis-ul-arq (checks excessive sweating)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- its heating, drying nature warrants care in severe pitta aggravation and in marked dryness
- Toxicity
- safe in customary dose; large amounts may cause dryness and heat
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