CautionAsia · Herb · № 674
Purple gromwell (zi cao)
Lithospermum erythrorhizon (en Arnebia euchroma)
Traditionally attributed effects: cools and moves the blood in dark rashes; externally for burns and eczema.
Chinese medical traditions+1
Registry
All herbs
Herbs, spices and other natural ingredients from around the world, with their uses, preparation, and origins.
- Caution
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 974
Pacific crabapple
Malus fusca
A small apple tree with small, sour, oval apples and very tough wood. The bark contains tannins.
Kwakwaka'wakw medicine
CautionAsia · Herb · № 443
Palmyra palm
Borassus flabellifer
Traditionally attributed effects: root cooling and restorative; sap diuretic, cooling, stimulating, anti-inflammatory; for hiccups, gastric catarrh, syphilis, gonorrhoea, bile and liver complaints, enlarged spleen, diabetes, tuberculosis.
Ayurveda
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 882
Palo santo
Bursera graveolens
A tree of the frankincense and myrrh family, with strongly scented wood that contains essential oil.
Curanderismo of northern Peru
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 868
Palqui (green cestrum)
Cestrum parqui
A fast-growing, foul-smelling shrub of the nightshade family. All parts are poisonous because of alkaloids.
Mapuche medicine
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Food · № 452
Papaya
Carica papaya
Traditionally attributed effects: aids digestion, expels worms, stomachic, promotes menstruation; ripe fruit mildly laxative; leaves against amoebic dysentery and fever; seeds against roundworms; promotes milk flow; unripe fruit abortifacient.
Herbal knowledge of the Caribbean+2
CautionAsia · Herb · № 437
Pashanbheda
Bergenia ligulata
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic, soothing, astringent, tonic; known for dissolving kidney stones; for fever, diarrhoea, lung complaints, eye inflammation, teething in children.
Ayurveda+1
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 154
Passionflower
Passiflora incarnata
Used for anxiety and sleep problems. NCCIH notes some indications of an effect on anxiety but limited evidence.
Indigenous healing traditions of North America+3Folklore- Caution
South America · Herb · № 912
Pasuchaca
Geranium ayavacense en Geranium sessiliflorum
Low, rosette-forming cranesbills with a thick root. They contain tannins. Whether the tea lowers blood sugar has not been properly studied in people.
Curanderismo of northern Peru 
CautionAsia · Herb · № 241
Patchouli
Pogostemon cablin
Traditionally attributed effects: inhibits sebum production, draws oil from the skin, fights acne bacteria; against dandruff.
Chinese medical traditions+2Folklore
CautionAsia · Herb · № 522
Chinaberry
Melia azedarach
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, tonic, antipyretic, expels worms; fruit laxative; oil insecticidal and antiseptic.
Ayurveda+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 395
Rosary pea
Abrus precatorius
Traditionally attributed effects: seeds purgative, emetic, tonic, anti-inflammatory, aphrodisiac; leaf juice for sore throat and dry cough, purifies the blood; leaf paste for swellings and rheumatism; seed paste for sciatica and paralysis; eyewash.
Ayurveda
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 326
Partridge berry
Mitchella repens
Traditionally attributed effects: stimulates the uterus, tonic, restorative, astringent, diuretic.
Indigenous healing traditions of North America+3
CautionAsia · Herb · № 685
Patrinia (bai jiang cao)
Patrinia scabiosifolia (en P. villosa)
Traditionally attributed effects: detoxifies, drains pus and moves the blood in pain with heat.
Chinese medical traditions
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 165
Pau d'arco
Handroanthus impetiginosus (syn. Tabebuia avellanedae)
The inner bark is sold for fungal infections, inflammation and as a 'cancer remedy'. There is no reliable human evidence; its active compound lapachol proved too toxic at effective doses.
The Guaraní and the mate tradition+2
CautionEurope · Food · № 259
Carrot
Daucus carota
Traditionally attributed effects: stimulating, diuretic, tonic, carminative; expels kidney and bladder stones, relieves lower back pain from the kidneys, reduces oedema, restores the bladder, stimulates digestion; seed traditionally as a contraceptive.
Western herbal medicine+4Folklore
CautionEurope · Food · № 244
Pear
Pyrus communis
A fibre-rich fruit with sorbitol, which is mildly laxative. In Chinese medicine pear (li) is cooked with rock sugar for a dry cough; no effect is described for other uses.
Folk magic and herbal magic+1Folklore
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 813
Pepper-bark tree
Warburgia salutaris
A tree with a peppery, pungent bark, traditionally used for colds, coughs and mouth complaints.
Traditional healers of Southern Africa
CautionAsia · Herb · № 656
Perilla
Perilla frutescens
Traditionally attributed effects: warms in colds from cold, helps digestion and soothes cough with phlegm.
Chinese medical traditions+2
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 885
Peruvian matico (spiked pepper)
Piper aduncum
A shrub of the pepper family with rough, fragrant leaves. The leaf was traditionally used to stop bleeding; research is limited.
Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 884
Peruvian elder
Sambucus peruviana
A tree with white flower umbels and dark berries, related to the European elder. Flowers and leaves are considered sweat-inducing and anti-inflammatory.
Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 898
Balsam of Peru
Myroxylon balsamum (var. pereirae)
A large tree whose resin, the balsam, smells of vanilla and cinnamon. The balsam contains cinnamic acid, benzyl benzoate and vanillin, among other compounds, and is used in perfume, food and ointments for skin and wounds.
Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
CautionAsia · Food · № 249
Peach
Prunus persica
A juicy summer fruit. In Chinese medicine the kernels (tao ren) are used to move the blood; raw they are poisonous because of amygdalin.
Chinese medical traditions+2Folklore
CautionAsia · Herb · № 769
Persian silk tree (he huan pi)
Albizia julibrissin
Traditionally attributed effects: calms the mind in anger and low mood and lets the blood flow in pain and swelling.
Chinese medical traditions
CautionEurope · Herb · № 219
Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
A culinary herb rich in vitamins C and K. Root and seed were used as a diuretic. Large amounts of seed or oil are toxic and can induce contractions.
Greco-Roman medicine+1Folklore
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 860
Peumo
Cryptocarya alba
An evergreen tree of the laurel family with fragrant leaves and edible red fruits. Traditionally for liver and joint complaints; research is lacking.
Mapuche medicine
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 903
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii
A small, spineless, blue-green cactus with a long taproot. Contains mescaline and over thirty other alkaloids. After a few hours mescaline brings colourful visions that last up to half a day, often after a phase of nausea and vomiting.
Indigenous healing traditions of North America
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 870
Pichi
Fabiana imbricata
A small shrub of the nightshade family that looks like a conifer. Traditionally for bladder and urinary complaints and for digestion; laboratory research points to a stomach-protecting effect.
Mapuche medicine
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 391
Arrowroot
Maranta arundinacea
Traditionally attributed effects: absorbs moisture.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 787
Birthwort fruit (ma dou ling)
Aristolochia debilis
Traditionally attributed effects: was used for cough with a lot of phlegm and high blood pressure; banned because of kidney damage.
Chinese medical traditions- Caution
Asia · Herb · № 786
Aristolochia root (guang fang ji)
Aristolochia fangchi
Traditionally attributed effects: was used for hot, painful joints and oedema; banned because of kidney damage.
Chinese medical traditions 
CautionOceania · Herb · № 178
Asthma weed
Euphorbia hirta
Traditionally used for asthma and bronchitis (the name asthma weed comes from Queensland), for diarrhoea and externally for warts. There is laboratory research but no good clinical evidence.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge+4
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 212
Allspice
Pimenta dioica
The dried berries contain eugenol, like cloves, and give a warm flavour. In Caribbean folk medicine they are used for stomach ache and wind; research is lacking.
Maya healing knowledge+3Folklore
CautionAsia · Herb · № 275
Pinellia (ban xia)
Pinellia ternata
Traditionally attributed effects: cough-suppressing, expectorant, against vomiting, anticatarrhal.
Chinese medical traditions+3
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1009
Pinku pinku
Ephedra americana
A leafless shrub with green, jointed stems, related to the Chinese ma huang. Ephedra species contain ephedrine, which widens the airways but also raises heart rate and blood pressure; how much this species contains has been little studied.
Kallawaya healing knowledge
CautionAsia · Herb · № 132
Chinese peony (bai shao)
Paeonia lactiflora en P. suffruticosa
The peeled root (bai shao, white peony) is used in Chinese medicine for cramps, period pain and muscle pain. There are studies of combination formulas but few of peony alone.
Chinese medical traditions+3