Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Horse purslane (Trianthema portulacastrum), of the Aizoaceae family. Prostrate fleshy annual herb with succulent forking stems; native range: pantropical, a common rainy-season weed of Indian fields. Globally recognized as shvetapunarnava · varshabhu in Sanskrit, safed sabuni · gadahpurna in Hindi, and horse purslane · giant pigweed · desert horsepurslane in English. The part used is whole plant, root, leaf. Smooth reddish trailing stems, small fleshy leaves, faintly salty-bitter and mucilaginous.
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.
HORSE PURSLANE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- horse purslane
- Scientific name
- Trianthema portulacastrum L.
- Family
- Aizoaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole plant, root, leaf
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter · astringent · sweet (tikta , kashaya , madhura)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- mutrala (diuretic), shothahara (relieves oedema), rechana (mild purgative), kaphavata-hara, dipana
Cautions
- Contraindications
- avoided in pregnancy for its purgative pull, and in high pitta
- Toxicity
- large doses purge and may irritate; the root is emeto-cathartic in excess
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