Witnessed by: TCM · Western · Unani
Knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare), of the Polygonaceae family. Prostrate to sprawling annual with slender, wiry, many-jointed stems sheathed at each swollen node; native range: across Eurasia and now cosmopolitan — a weed of paths, waste ground and trodden field-edges everywhere. Globally recognized as bian xu (萹蓄) in Chinese, asa al-ra'i (عصا الراعي, 'shepherd's staff') · battbatt in Arabic, and knotweed, birdweed, ninety-knot, allseed, swine's grass in English. The part used is the aerial parts (whole flowering herb). Wiry, knotted stems set with small blue-green leaves and tiny pinkish-white flowers tucked in the joints; the taste is dry, green and astringent with a bitter edge.
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.
KNOTGRASS
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- knotgrass
- Scientific name
- Polygonum aviculare L.
- Family
- Polygonaceae
Form
- Part used
- the aerial parts (whole flowering herb)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter
- Western
- astringent · bitter
- Unani
- astringent (qabiz)
Temperature
TCM: cold (slightly — wei han)
Western: cool
Unani: cold & dry (2nd degree)
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses agree on a cooling, drying, astringent herb — a coolant for heat in the waterways
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Bladder
- Western
- kidneys · bladder · bowels
- Unani
- kidneys · bladder
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears damp-heat, promotes urination and frees painful dribbling urination (lin), kills parasites and stops itch
- Western
- astringent, diuretic, styptic (haemostatic) and vulnerary
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), habis-ud-dam (styptic), mudir-e-baul (diuretic) and cooling
Cautions
- Contraindications
- urinary dribbling from deficiency without damp-heat, and weak digestion with loose stool and no accumulation; caution in pregnancy given its diuretic and downward-draining action
- Toxicity
- a mild and long-used herb; large or prolonged doses may over-drain the fluids and irritate a weak stomach
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