Witnessed by: Unani
Salep orchid (Orchis latifolia), of the Orchidaceae family. Terrestrial alpine orchid with a rosette of broad spotted leaves and a dense spike of purple flowers, rising from a palmate tuber; native range: the alpine and sub-alpine meadows of the Himalaya, from Kashmir eastward at 2500–5000 m. Globally recognized as sahlab · khusyat-uth-thalab in Arabic, salab · salab misri in Persian, salab misri · salab panja in Urdu, hatta-jari · panja in Hindi, and salep · salep orchid in English. The part used is the tuber. Hard, horny, translucent tubers, yellowish-white and lobed like a small hand, heavy and difficult to break; nearly scentless, the taste bland and faintly sweet, and swelling in water to a thick, tasteless slime.
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.
SALAB MISRI
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- salep orchid
- Scientific name
- Orchis latifolia L., the name under which the Unani drug is carried; the Himalayan salep of the bazaar is now referred to Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D.Don) Soó
- Family
- Orchidaceae
Form
- Part used
- the tuber
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Unani
- sweet (faint) · mucilaginous
Temperature
- Unani
- hot (1st degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- intestines · nerves
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-bah (aphrodisiac), mughalliz-e-mani (thickens the semen), muqawwi-e-badan (general restorative), mumsik, muhallil (demulcent and soothing), and habis (binding on a loose bowel)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- a sluggish, cold digestion, where its heavy mucilage lies undigested; obesity
- Toxicity
- no toxicity is on record; it is a food as much as a drug
- Sourcing status
- cites-ii
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