Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Unani
Creeping wood sorrel (Oxalis corniculata), of the Oxalidaceae family. Low creeping herb rooting at the nodes, with clover-like trifoliate leaves and small yellow flowers; native range: A near-cosmopolitan weed of warm and temperate lands, in lawns, fields and waste ground. Globally recognized as cu jiang cao (酢浆草) in Chinese, changeri / amlapatrika in Sanskrit, khatti buti / amrul in Hindi, hummaz in Arabic, and creeping wood sorrel, Indian sorrel in English. The part used is whole plant (leaf and stem). Bright, sharply sour, lemony taste from oxalic acid; the delicate leaflets fold shut at night.
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.
CREEPING WOOD SORREL
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Creeping wood sorrel
- Scientific name
- Oxalis corniculata L.
- Family
- Oxalidaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole plant (leaf and stem)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sour
- Ayurveda
- sour (amla)
- Unani
- sour
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna — a warming grahi despite the sour taste)
- Unani
- cold (& dry)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Large Intestine · Bladder · Liver
- Unani
- stomach · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat, resolves toxicity, cools the blood and promotes urination — for damp-heat dysentery, hot painful urination, sore throat and snakebite
- Ayurveda
- dipana (appetizer), grahi (bowel-binding), for atisara (diarrhoea) and grahani (sprue); the juice for skin and eye complaints
- Unani
- kasir (refrigerant) and appetiser, for bilious fever and thirst; applied to inflamed skin, warts and corns
Cautions
- Contraindications
- gout, oxalate kidney stones and hyperacidity — the oxalic-acid content; avoid large or prolonged doses
- Toxicity
- rich in soluble oxalates; excess may irritate the kidneys and bind dietary calcium
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