Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Crab's claw galls (Pistacia integerrima), of the Anacardiaceae family. Small deciduous tree, the leaves galled into twisted hollow horns; native range: the Himalaya from the north-west through Nepal, on dry hill slopes. Globally recognized as karkatashringi in Sanskrit, kakra singhi, kakrasingi in Hindi, kakra singhi in Arabic, and crab's claw galls, zebrawood galls in English. The part used is the leaf galls. Curved hollow horn-like galls, grey and brittle, bitter and astringent with a faint resinous smell.
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.
CRAB'S CLAW GALLS
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Crab's claw galls
- Scientific name
- Pistacia integerrima J.L.Stewart ex Brandis
- Family
- Anacardiaceae
Form
- Part used
- the leaf galls
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter · astringent
- Unani
- bitter · astringent
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- lungs · stomach · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- kasa-shwasa-hara (relieves cough and dyspnoea), grahi (astringent bowel-binder), dipana (digestive), jvaraghna (antipyretic), chhardighna (antiemetic)
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), habis (checks fluxes), musakkin-e-sual (antitussive), muqawwi-e-meda (stomach tonic)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- high pitta with a dry unproductive cough, and constipation from its astringency
- Toxicity
- few; astringent excess binds the bowel
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