Witnessed by: TCM
Black false hellebore (Veratrum nigrum), of the Melanthiaceae family. Stout perennial herb with pleated basal leaves and dark purple-black flower spikes; native range: mountain meadows of northern China, Korea, and temperate Eurasia. Globally recognized as li lu (藜芦) in Chinese, and black false hellebore, veratrum in English. The part used is root and rhizome. Fibrous blackish rhizome with a bitter, acrid, deeply nauseating taste.
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.
BLACK FALSE HELLEBORE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- black false hellebore
- Scientific name
- Veratrum nigrum L.
- Family
- Melanthiaceae
Form
- Part used
- root and rhizome
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · pungent
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Stomach · Liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- induces vomiting to expel wind-phlegm and retained food, kills parasites, dispels phlegm
Cautions
- Contraindications
- contraindicated in pregnancy, in the weak, and in those with blood loss; a head of the eighteen incompatibilities — never combined with ginseng, sha shen, dan shen, xuan shen, ku shen, xi xin, or shao yao
- Toxicity
- highly toxic; overdose provokes violent vomiting followed by cardiac and respiratory collapse
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