Juniperus, Shug pa ཤུག་པ

Botanical name:

Juniperus spp.
A number of species of Juniperus are used in Tibetan Medicine; the main types are:

1. Shug pa  ཤུག་པ : J. recurva, J. sabina, J. pseudosabina (J. communis is reportedly used by Tibetans in Russia)
2. Shug pa tsher can: (syn Shug tsher)  ཤུག་པ་ཚེར་ཅན : J. recurva, J. formosa, J. squamata, Juniperus communis var. saxatilis (Nepal)
3. Rgya shug  རྒྱ་ཤུག : J. indica (syn. J. walliichiana), J. przewalskii; Cupressus torulosa (Nepal)
4. Ci bai 刺柏 : J. formosana (used similarly in TCM)

J. recurva is a primary species, for which there are a number of synonyms including: J. butanensis, J. canescens, J. incurva, J. nepalensis, J. religiosa, J. squamosa, Sabina recurva etc.
Some species of Sabina and Cupressus are reportedly used including Cupressus tortulosa. Some species of Sabina are synonyms for Juniperus spp. For example, Sabina przewalskii is a synonym for Juniperus przewalskii.
Related medicines:

1. Shug ‘bru is the seed of J. indica (syn. J. walliichiana)
2. Rgy shug gi’bru: fruits of J. przewalskii,
3. Shing ma: wood of J. squamata or J. walliichiana

Parts used:

Fruit; leaf; sometimes the seed
In TCM the root, root-bark or leafy branches are used as Ci Bai.

Temperature & Taste:

Cool, dry. Bitter