Lavanga

What is Lavanga?

Lavanga is the small, dark, nail-shaped bud you know as clove. It is the dried, unopened flower bud of an evergreen tree, Syzygium aromaticum, of the myrtle family. The bud is picked before it opens and dried until it turns a deep reddish brown, and it is that whole bud, or its powder, that Ayurveda uses as a spice and a medicine.

The name carries the plant’s own reputation. Several of its Sanskrit names, Devakusuma and Devapushpa, mean flower of the gods, and Chandanapushpa links it to the fragrance of sandalwood. In Hindi it is Laung, and in English it is simply clove. All of these point to the same thing that makes clove unmistakable: its powerful, warming aroma, held in a bud no bigger than a fingernail.

What Ayurveda uses it for

In the classical texts Lavanga sits within the Karpuradi group, the aromatic drugs gathered around camphor. It is valued above all as a digestive spice. The texts call it Deepana, meaning it kindles the digestive fire, and Pachana, meaning it helps food break down, so it is traditionally used to support appetite and digestion. It is also Ruchya, which means it makes food more palatable and brings back a taste for eating.

Beyond the gut, Ayurveda uses Lavanga for the mouth and the senses. Because it is so aromatic, it is a classical Mukhashodhana dravya, a mouth-freshening substance, and it is traditionally used to support the throat and the voice. The texts also describe it as Chakshushya, regarded as beneficial for the eyes, and as Krimighna, traditionally used against worms and unseen organisms. In practice it is used in very small culinary and formulary quantities, a spice rather than a bulk herb.

Its qualities, in plain words

Ayurveda describes every substance by a short list of qualities, and clove’s list holds a genuine surprise.

Its tastes are pungent and bitter, the sharp, clearing flavours that Ayurveda associates with reducing heaviness and damp, which is why the tradition sees it as calming the watery Kapha quality. In quality it is light and yet a little unctuous, and it is sharp and penetrating, so a very little of it travels a long way. After digestion it finishes pungent.

The surprise is its potency. Clove tastes and feels warming, so you would expect the texts to call it heating. Yet the Bhavaprakasha Nighantu assigns it a cooling potency, a cold virya. This is a well-known point of interest in the classical literature, and it is part of why Lavanga is understood to settle both Kapha, through its pungent and bitter tastes, and Pitta, through its cooling potency. Used in excess it may mildly unsettle Vata.

How it is taken

Lavanga is almost always used in tiny amounts. It is taken as the whole dried bud, added to food and warm drinks, and as churna, a fine powder, blended into classical compounds. It appears by name in preparations such as Lavangadi Vati, a small aromatic tablet often held in the mouth, Lavangadi Churna, and the well-known digestive powder Avipattikara Churna.

One thing worth keeping clear is the difference between the bud and the oil. Steam-distilled clove oil is a separate, highly concentrated preparation. It is far stronger than the whole bud and is not interchangeable with it, so the gentle culinary use of a clove and the use of clove essential oil are two very different things.

Good to know

Lavanga is a spice, used in very small quantities rather than by the spoonful. In cooking a clove or two flavours a whole pot, and in formulations it is one aromatic note among many. This restraint is part of the classical understanding of the herb: a little of something so sharp and penetrating goes a long way.

This entry describes the classical Ayurvedic understanding of the herb. It is not medical advice, and anyone with a health condition should speak to a qualified practitioner.

Frequently asked

Is clove warming or cooling in Ayurveda? This is the interesting part. Clove tastes and feels warming, but the classical texts, including the Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, give it a cooling potency, a cold virya. Ayurveda separates how a substance feels on the tongue from how it acts after digestion, and clove is a classic example of the two not matching.

Is the whole clove the same as clove oil? No. Clove oil is steam-distilled and highly concentrated, many times stronger than the bud it comes from. The two are not interchangeable, and the gentle culinary clove should not be confused with the essential oil.

Which part of the plant is used? The dried, unopened flower bud. It is picked before the flower opens, then dried until dark and hard, and it is this bud, whole or powdered, that Ayurveda uses.