Witnessed by: TCM · Western
Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), of the Lamiaceae (Labiatae) family. Low creeping perennial with square stems and terminal club-like flower spikes; native range: Circumboreal — native across Europe, Asia and North America; a common weed of grassland, verges and lawns. Globally recognized as xia ku cao (夏枯草) in Chinese, and heal-all, all-heal, woundwort, carpenter's herb, xia ku cao in English. The part used is TCM uses the dried fruiting spike (ear); Western herbalism the whole flowering herb. Violet two-lipped florets in a barrel-shaped spike of brown bracts; faintly bitter and pungent, slightly astringent.
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.
SELF-HEAL
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Self-heal
- Scientific name
- Prunella vulgaris L.
- Family
- Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
Form
- Part used
- TCM uses the dried fruiting spike (ear); Western herbalism the whole flowering herb
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · pungent
- Western
- bitter · astringent · pungent
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
- Western
- cool
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Gallbladder
- Western
- liver · mucous membranes · skin · blood
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears liver fire and brightens the eyes, dissipates nodules and dispels phlegm-fire clumps, and lowers blood pressure
- Western
- vulnerary, astringent, styptic, antiseptic and antiviral; a cooling gargle and wound-wash
Cautions
Contraindications: spleen and stomach deficiency-cold with poor appetite and loose stools; use cautiously in weak digestion
Toxicity: very low; occasional mild digestive upset or, rarely, contact sensitivity
Interactions
- Western
- antihypertensives: additive blood-pressure lowering
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