Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Mistletoe (Viscum album), of the Santalaceae (formerly Viscaceae; Loranthaceae) family. Evergreen hemiparasitic shrub forming forked, pendulous bushes on the host's branches; native range: Europe and temperate Asia, a hemiparasite living on the branches of apple, poplar, lime and oak. Globally recognized as dibq (دبق) in Arabic, and European mistletoe, all-heal, birdlime mistletoe in English. The part used is leafy young twigs and the white berries. Yellow-green forking stems and paired leathery leaves; translucent white berries full of a sticky pulp; the taste acrid and nauseous.
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.
MISTLETOE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Mistletoe
- Scientific name
- Viscum album L.
- Family
- Santalaceae (formerly Viscaceae; Loranthaceae)
Form
- Part used
- leafy young twigs and the white berries
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- bitter · acrid (nauseous, sticky)
- Unani
- bitter · acrid
Temperature
- Western
- warm (hot and dry, of subtle parts — Culpeper)
- Unani
- hot (& dry, 3rd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- nerves · nervous system · heart · circulation
- Unani
- nerves · joints · skin
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- nervine, antispasmodic, hypotensive, narcotic, tonic
- Unani
- muhallil (resolvent), munzij (ripener), jazib (attractant); a plaster to soften hard swellings
Cautions
Contraindications: pregnancy; the berries are poisonous if eaten
Toxicity: berries and large doses cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, a slowed pulse and collapse; a toxic plant
Interactions
- Western
- antihypertensives: additive blood-pressure and heart-rate lowering · immunosuppressants: mistletoe lectins stimulate immunity and may oppose the drug
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