Witnessed by: TCM
Foxtail millet (Setaria italica), of the Poaceae family. Erect annual grass with a dense bristly cylindrical seed-head like a fox's tail; native range: domesticated in north China from green foxtail (Setaria viridis) and grown across dry Asia and Europe since neolithic times. Globally recognized as su (粟) · xiao mi (小米) · shu mi (秫米, the glutinous kind) in Chinese, awa (粟) in Japanese, and foxtail millet, Italian millet in English. The part used is grain; the glutinous variety distinguished as shu mi. Tiny round yellow grains, bland and faintly sweet, cooking to a soft, slightly slippery gruel.
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.
FOXTAIL MILLET
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- foxtail millet
- Scientific name
- Setaria italica (L.) P.Beauv.
- Family
- Poaceae
Form
- Part used
- grain; the glutinous variety distinguished as shu mi
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet · salty (slight)
Temperature
- TCM
- cool (the glutinous shu mi reckoned slightly cold)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Spleen · Stomach · Kidney (the glutinous shu mi also reckoned to Lung and Large Intestine)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- harmonises the middle and boosts the Kidney, clears heat, and relieves toxicity; the glutinous shu mi harmonises the Stomach and settles the spirit
Cautions
- Contraindications
- none of consequence — a staple grain; its cool sweetness suits a hot depletion rather than a cold, damp middle
- Toxicity
- a food grain; non-toxic
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.