Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Vegetable hummingbird (Sesbania grandiflora), of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family. Fast, soft-wooded small tree with pinnate leaves and pea-like flowers; native range: tropical Asia, widely grown across India, Malesia and the Pacific. Globally recognized as agastya · munidruma · vangasena in Sanskrit, agasti · hathga in Hindi, and vegetable hummingbird · West Indian pea · scarlet wistaria · humming bird tree in English. The part used is leaf, flower, bark, root. Large white or rose flowers, bitter-astringent leaves, and a bark that weeps a reddish gum.
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.
VEGETABLE HUMMINGBIRD
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- vegetable hummingbird
- Scientific name
- Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Poir.
- Family
- Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Form
- Part used
- leaf, flower, bark, root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter · astringent (tikta , kashaya)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (sheeta)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- jwaraghna (antipyretic), kaphapitta-hara, shirovirechana (clears the head via nasya), chakshushya (good for the eyes), krimighna
Cautions
- Contraindications
- the sharp nasya avoided in delicate and vata-prone constitutions
- Toxicity
- regarded as a safe food-medicine; the root juice is strongly errhine and irritant if overused
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