Witnessed by: TCM
Stellaria (Stellaria dichotoma), of the Caryophyllaceae family. Low forked perennial of arid sandy grassland; native range: dry sandy steppes of northern and north-western China. Globally recognized as yin chai hu (銀柴胡) in Chinese, and stellaria, silver bupleurum root in English. The part used is root. Slender pale-yellow forking root with a silvery cracked bark, sweet and mild, faintly resinous.
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.
STELLARIA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- stellaria
- Scientific name
- Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bunge
- Family
- Caryophyllaceae
Form
- Part used
- root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet
Temperature
- TCM
- cool
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat from deficiency and relieves childhood nutritional heat with steaming bones
Cautions
- Contraindications
- avoid in exterior wind-cold fever and in cold from deficiency
- Toxicity
- no significant toxicity at usual dose
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