Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Dyer's oleander (Wrightia tinctoria), of the Apocynaceae family. Small deciduous tree with fragrant white flowers and paired slender pods; native range: peninsular India and Southeast Asia, in dry deciduous forest. Globally recognized as shvetakutaja · strikutaja in Sanskrit, dudhi · mitha indarjau in Hindi, and dyer's oleander · sweet indrajao · pala indigo plant in English. The part used is bark, leaf, seed, latex. Smooth pale bark bleeding white latex, jasmine-scented flowers, bitter astringent leaves.
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.
DYER'S OLEANDER
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- dyer's oleander
- Scientific name
- Wrightia tinctoria R.Br.
- Family
- Apocynaceae
Form
- Part used
- bark, leaf, seed, latex
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter · astringent (tikta , kashaya)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (sheeta)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- grahi (checks diarrhoea), kushthaghna (relieves skin disease), kaphapitta-hara, raktashodhana (blood-cleansing), krimighna
Cautions
- Contraindications
- the drying astringent avoided in constipation and high vata
- Toxicity
- regarded as a mild and safe drug in customary dose
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