Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Fire-flame Bush (Woodfordia fruticosa), of the Lythraceae family. Straggling shrub with arching branches ablaze with tubular scarlet flowers; native range: India and Southeast Asia, on dry rocky hill slopes. Globally recognized as dhataki in Sanskrit, dhai, dhawai in Hindi, gul-e-dhawa in Persian, and fire-flame bush, shiranji-tea in English. The part used is the dried flowers. Small brick-red shrivelled flowers, strongly astringent and faintly sweet.
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.
FIRE-FLAME BUSH
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Fire-flame Bush
- Scientific name
- Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz
- Family
- Lythraceae
Form
- Part used
- the dried flowers
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- astringent · pungent (kashaya, katu)
- Unani
- astringent · bitter
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (sheeta)
- Unani
- cold (& dry, 2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- intestines · uterus · liver · skin
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- grahi (astringent), stambhana (styptic), vranaropana (wound-healing), kapha-pitta-hara; the essential fermenting flower of asava and arishta
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), habis-ud-dam (styptic), and a wound-cleansing application
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation and excess dryness (vata) states
- Toxicity
- very well tolerated; large amounts may aggravate dryness
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