Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Wild celery / ajmoda (Trachyspermum roxburghianum), of the Apiaceae family. Erect, branching annual umbelliferous herb with finely divided leaves and small white umbels; native range: India — cultivated in Bengal, Bihar and the peninsula, and running wild about cultivation. Globally recognized as ajamodā · ajamodikā · brahmadarbhā in Sanskrit, ajmod in Hindi, radhuni in Bengali, and wild celery, Indian celery seed in English. The part used is fruit (the 'seed'). Small, ridged, greyish-brown ovoid mericarps, strongly and sharply aromatic when rubbed, the taste pungent and bitterish with a numbing bite on the tongue.
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.
AJAMODA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- wild celery / ajmoda
- Scientific name
- Trachyspermum roxburghianum (DC.) H.Wolff
- Family
- Apiaceae
Form
- Part used
- fruit (the 'seed')
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu) · bitter (tikta)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- dīpana and pācana (kindles the digestive fire and digests āma), vāta-anulomana (carminative, turns the wind down), shūla-prashamana (relieves colic), krimighna (anthelmintic), hikkā-nigrahana (checks hiccup), and rucya (restores the appetite)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pitta excess, acidity, ulcer and bleeding conditions; the large dose in pregnancy
- Toxicity
- a culinary spice of low toxicity; excess of the heating fruit provokes burning and thirst
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