Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Onosma (Onosma bracteatum), of the Boraginaceae family. Rough, bristly-haired perennial herb; native range: Western Himalaya, from Kashmir to Kumaon. Globally recognized as gojihva in Sanskrit, gaozaban in Hindi, lisan-us-saur in Arabic, and onosma, ox-tongue in English. The part used is flower and leaf. Coarse hairy leaves and violet-blue flowers, faintly sweet and mucilaginous, leaving a soft cooling slip on the tongue.
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.
ONOSMA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Onosma
- Scientific name
- Onosma bracteatum Wall.
- Family
- Boraginaceae
Form
- Part used
- flower and leaf
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet (madhura), slightly astringent
- Unani
- sweet, bland and slippery
Temperature
Ayurveda: cooling (shita)
Unani: cold & moist (1st degree)
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses hold it a gentle cooler and moistener
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- heart · brain · liver · kidneys
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- pittashamaka (cooling), mutrala (diuretic), daha-prashamana (relieves burning), hridya (cardiac soother)
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-qalb (cardiac tonic), mufarreh (exhilarant), muskin (demulcent-soothing), mudirr-e-baul (diuretic)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- cold, damp and kapha-heavy conditions with copious mucus
- Toxicity
- the fine leaf-hairs can irritate the throat unless the infusion is well strained
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