Witnessed by: TCM

Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium), of the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. Coarse erect annual weed with rough triangular leaves and inconspicuous flowers, the fruits in the leaf axils; native range: of disputed origin and now cosmopolitan — a weed of waste ground, riverbanks and field margins through the temperate and warm world. Globally recognized as cang er zi (蒼耳子) in Chinese, sōjishi in Japanese, arishta, sarpakshi in Sanskrit, and cocklebur, common cocklebur, rough cocklebur in English. The part used is the ripe fruit (the bur), dry-fried. Small hard spindle-shaped burs, greyish-brown to yellow-green, densely set with hooked spines that catch on the skin; the taste bitter and faintly acrid, with little smell until fried, when it turns nutty.

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.

COCKLEBUR

IDENTITY

Name

Common: cocklebur
Scientific name: Xanthium strumarium L.
Family: Asteraceae (Compositae)

Form

Part used: the ripe fruit (the bur), dry-fried

PROPERTIES

Nature

Taste

how the plant declares itself on the tongue

TCM: pungent · bitter

Temperature

TCM: warm

Affinity

where in the body it travels

Organs / channels

TCM: Lung

PRACTICE

Virtue

Actions

TCM: dispels wind-damp and unblocks the nasal passages, disperses wind and relieves pain, stops itching

Cautions

Contraindications: headache and painful obstruction from blood deficiency; avoid in the depleted
Toxicity: the raw fruit and the seedling are poisonous — carboxyatractyloside and related glycosides damage the liver, and poisonings with vomiting, abdominal pain, jaundice and hepatic failure are on record from the raw drug and from overdose. Dry-frying reduces but does not abolish this. The dose is not to be exceeded, and the raw fruit is not used internally

This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.