Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Dog rose (Rosa canina), of the Rosaceae family. Arching thorny shrub with pink or white five-petalled flowers and scarlet fruits; native range: hedgerows, thickets and woodland margins of Europe, North Africa and western Asia. Globally recognized as nasrin, ward (the rose) in Arabic, and wild brier, hip rose, hep tree in English. The part used is the hip (fruit); also the flower. A firm scarlet hip, sweet-sour and slightly astringent, its flesh full of tart pulp around irritant seed-hairs; the flower faintly sweet and cooling.
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.
DOG ROSE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- dog rose
- Scientific name
- Rosa canina L.
- Family
- Rosaceae
Form
- Part used
- the hip (fruit); also the flower
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- sour · sweet · astringent (the tart hip)
- Unani
- sour · astringent · sweet
Temperature
- Western
- cool
- Unani
- cold & dry (1st-2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- kidneys · joints · digestion · immune
- Unani
- heart · brain · stomach · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- nutritive tonic (rich in vitamin C), mild astringent, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, gentle laxative (the syrup)
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), muqawwi-e-qalb wa dimagh (tonic to heart and brain), mufarreh (exhilarant), mulaiyin as the confection (gentle laxative)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- the hairy seed-coats must be strained out (irritant); otherwise very safe
- Toxicity
- the achene hairs irritate the mouth and gut if not removed; the drug is essentially non-toxic
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