Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Box myrtle / kaiphal (Myrica esculenta), of the Myricaceae family. Small to medium evergreen tree with lanceolate leaves and a fleshy red drupe, on the hill slopes; native range: sub-Himalayan tract and mid-hills from Kashmir east to Assam, and the hills of Nepal and northern Burma, 1000–2100 m. Globally recognized as katphala · somavalka · kumbhika in Sanskrit, kaiphal · kayaphal in Hindi, and box myrtle, bayberry of the Himalaya in English. The part used is stem bark. Curved quills of bark, red-brown to grey without and reddish within, with a short granular fracture; the taste astringent and sharply bitter, biting the tongue, the smell faintly aromatic.
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.
KATPHALA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- box myrtle / kaiphal
- Scientific name
- Myrica esculenta Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don
- Family
- Myricaceae
Form
- Part used
- stem bark
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu) · bitter (tikta) · astringent (kashaya)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- kaphahara and shwasahara (cuts kapha, eases the breath), kasahara (checks cough), kanthya (clears the throat), nasya-dravya and a sternutatory that opens the head, dipana-pachana (kindles and digests), jvaraghna (antipyretic), and grahi (astringent, checks the flux)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pitta-predominant and hot conditions, acidity and bleeding, and pregnancy in the larger dose
- Toxicity
- the bark is acrid and irritant — the powder snuffed freely inflames the nasal membrane, and large doses may nauseate; low toxicity in the ordinary dose
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