Witnessed by: TCM · Western · Unani
Yellow dock (Rumex crispus), of the Polygonaceae family. Tap-rooted perennial with wavy-edged (curled) lance leaves; native range: Native to Europe and western Asia, now a cosmopolitan weed of waste ground. Globally recognized as yang ti (羊蹄) in Chinese, hummaz in Arabic, and curled dock, sour dock, narrow dock in English. The part used is root. A stout spindle-shaped root, yellow-brown without and yellow within, bitter and astringent, faintly earthy.
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.
YELLOW DOCK
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Yellow dock
- Scientific name
- Rumex crispus L.
- Family
- Polygonaceae
Form
- Part used
- root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · sour
- Western
- bitter · astringent
- Unani
- bitter · astringent
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
- Western
- cool
- Unani
- cold (cold & dry)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Heart · Large Intestine · Liver
- Western
- liver · blood · skin · bowels
- Unani
- liver · stomach · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- cools the blood and stops bleeding, clears heat, kills parasites, moistens the intestines to move the stool
- Western
- alterative and blood-cleanser, mild laxative, cholagogue, gently tonic (a source of iron), astringent
- Unani
- musaffi-e-dam (blood-purifier), mulaiyin (mild laxative), jali (detergent to the skin), for scabies and itch
Cautions
- Contraindications
- gout, kidney stones and rheumatic states (the oxalates); pregnancy in large dose
- Toxicity
- large doses purge and gripe; the oxalate-rich leaf is more irritant than the root
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