Witnessed by: TCM · Western
Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), of the Phytolaccaceae family. Tall herbaceous perennial with red stems and a thick taproot; native range: Eastern North America; naturalised in East Asia and Europe. Globally recognized as shang lu (商陸) in Chinese, and pokeweed, poke root, pokeberry, inkberry in English. The part used is root (also berry). A large fleshy taproot, whitish within, with concentric rings; taste sweetish then sharply acrid and biting, leaving a lasting scratch in the throat.
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.
POKEWEED
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Pokeweed
- Scientific name
- Phytolacca americana L.
- Family
- Phytolaccaceae
Form
- Part used
- root (also berry)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · pungent
- Western
- acrid · bitter
Temperature
TCM: cold
Western: cool
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses reckon the root cooling
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Spleen · Kidney · Large Intestine
- Western
- immune · skin · joints · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- drives out water and drains downward, disperses swellings and reduces masses; applied externally for sores
- Western
- lymphatic alterative, glandular deobstruent, emetic-purgative in dose, and anti-inflammatory to the joints
Cautions
Contraindications: pregnancy, lactation, and debility; not for weak or deficient patients
Toxicity: genuinely toxic — the raw root and berry cause violent vomiting, purging, cramps and, in quantity, dangerous collapse; handle and dose with strict care
Interactions
- Western
- immunosuppressants: pokeweed mitogen stimulates lymphocytes, opposing immunosuppression
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