Witnessed by: TCM
Wild peach (Prunus davidiana), of the Rosaceae family. Small hardy deciduous tree of dry northern hillsides, flowering pink or white before leaf, with a small dry inedible drupe; native range: Northern and western China — the hills and dry slopes of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu and Yunnan; also grown as a hardy rootstock. Globally recognized as shan tao (山桃, the tree), tao ren (桃仁, the kernel) in Chinese, and wild peach, David's peach, mountain peach in English. The part used is the seed kernel (tao ren). A small, flattened, pointed kernel in a hard pitted stone under a thin brown skin, bitter with a faint scent of almonds.
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.
WILD PEACH
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- wild peach
- Scientific name
- Prunus davidiana (Carrière) Franch.
- Family
- Rosaceae
Form
- Part used
- the seed kernel (tao ren)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · sweet
Temperature
- TCM
- neutral
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Heart · Liver · Large Intestine
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- breaks up and invigorates stagnant blood, dispels stasis and reduces fixed masses, and moistens the Intestines to move a dry stool
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy — the kernel is a strong blood-mover; loose stool and diarrhoea; heavy menstrual bleeding or a bleeding tendency
- Toxicity
- the kernel holds amygdalin and yields hydrocyanic acid — toxic in quantity; use only in dose, and never as food
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