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Herbs & Cultures

From Ayurveda to Rongoā Māori

Herbal knowledge and the cultures that passed it on

Communities around the world learned how plants nourish, care and heal. Here their traditions stand beside present-day use, with respect for every culture.

All 980 herbs from 43 traditions

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65 results

  • Caution

    Central America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 822

    Pirul (Peruvian pepper tree)

    Schinus molle

    A tree with aromatic leaves and pink berries, used in cleansing rituals and as a folk remedy.

    Curanderismo+2
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 1014

    Queñua

    Polylepis (o.a. P. besseri en P. tarapacana)

    Gnarled trees and shrubs of the rose family with reddish-brown bark that peels in thin layers and protects against the cold. Nothing has been studied about its effect in people.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 871

    Quinchamalí

    Quinchamalium chilense

    A semi-parasitic herb with orange-yellow flowers in heads. Traditionally for wounds and colds; research is lacking.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 915

    Rhatany (ratania)

    Krameria lappacea (syn. Krameria triandra)

    A low shrub that is partly parasitic on the roots of other plants. The red root is rich in tannins and is therefore astringent. In Europe rhatany root is listed in the pharmacopoeia and used in mouthwashes and gum remedies.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 888

    Giant horsetail

    Equisetum giganteum

    A large horsetail, rich in silica. Traditionally used as a diuretic, like European field horsetail; good evidence is lacking.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 1012

    Roq'e

    Colletia spinosissima

    A thorny shrub with green thorns set crosswise and hardly any leaves. It lives together with nitrogen-fixing Frankia bacteria. The bark contains saponins; little has been studied about its effect in people.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge
  • Caution

    Europe · Herb · № 2

    Rosemary

    Salvia rosmarinus (syn. Rosmarinus officinalis)

    An aromatic culinary herb with carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid. A few small studies point to a slight effect of the scent on alertness; that it improves memory has not been shown. The leaf is used for digestive complaints.

    Monastic and folk knowledge+4Folklore
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 900

    Sabadilla

    Schoenocaulon officinale

    A lily-like plant with highly poisonous seeds containing alkaloids such as veratridine and cevadine. Pharmacists around the world made louse treatments and insecticides from them.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge
  • Caution

    Central America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 819

    Tobacco

    Nicotiana rustica

    A ceremonial plant of many Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Tobacco is addictive and harmful to health.

    Maya healing knowledge+10
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 877

    Tara

    Tara spinosa (syn. Caesalpinia spinosa)

    A thorny tree with red pods that are very rich in tannins. In laboratory tests, extracts of the pods inhibited several bacteria.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
  • Caution

    South America · Food · № 1011

    Tarwi

    Lupinus mutabilis

    A lupin with white to purple flowers and protein-rich, oily beans. The raw beans are bitter from lupin alkaloids, which are removed by days of soaking and rinsing.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 892

    Tola

    Parastrephia quadrangularis (syn. Lepidophyllum quadrangulare, P. lepidophylla)

    A resinous shrub up to two metres tall with small, scale-like leaves; typical of the dry high plateau.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 1013

    Turpay

    Nototriche (o.a. N. mandoniana en N. porphyrantha)

    A small, cushion-forming mallow that grows flat against the ground, with a thick taproot. Mallows contain soothing mucilage; these species themselves have hardly been studied.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge
  • Caution

    Europe · Herb · № 72

    Fennel

    Foeniculum vulgare

    The seed is traditionally used for wind, bloating and cramps. There are some small studies, but evidence is limited.

    Greco-Roman medicine+9Folklore
  • Caution

    Europe · Food · № 654

    Watercress

    Nasturtium officinale

    Traditionally attributed effects: rich in vitamin C, beta-carotene and vitamin E; used to support detoxification, cool body heat and support the lungs.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
  • Caution

    Europe · Herb · № 86

    Greater plantain

    Plantago major

    The leaf is traditionally bruised and applied to insect bites, small wounds and grazes, and taken as tea for coughs. Clinical evidence is limited.

    Monastic and folk knowledge+9Folklore
  • Caution

    Europe · Herb · № 242

    Rue

    Ruta graveolens

    Traditionally attributed effects: antiseptic, stimulating, promotes menstruation, expectorant, antispasmodic, expels worms (children); strengthens capillaries (rutin); for hysteria, flatulence and colic, incipient paralysis, indigestion; oil diuretic and skin-irritant.

    Greco-Roman medicine+6Folklore
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 1005

    Wira wira

    Achyrocline satureioides (en verwante wollige composieten, o.a. Culcitium canescens)

    A woolly, bitter-aromatic plant up to a metre tall with yellow flower heads. Contains flavonoids such as quercetin and luteolin; in the laboratory the extract acts against some viruses, but research in people is lacking.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 893

    Yareta

    Azorella compacta (en verwante soorten)

    An evergreen cushion plant that grows over the ground like a green boulder. It grows about one and a half centimetres a year; some plants are estimated to be over 3,000 years old. The plant contains a sticky resin.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge
  • Caution

    South America · Food · № 15

    Yerba mate

    Ilex paraguariensis

    The leaves contain caffeine, theobromine and polyphenols; the drink is stimulating and dispels tiredness, like coffee or tea. It is a beverage and social drink, not a medicine.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 901

    Ayahuasca

    Banisteriopsis caapi

    A giant liana up to thirty metres long. The stem contains harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine, which inhibit the enzyme MAO. This makes the DMT from plants such as chacruna active by mouth. The drink brings visions, and usually vomiting and diarrhoea, which the tradition regards as cleansing.

    Herbal knowledge of the Amazon+3
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 924

    Cebil (vilca)

    Anadenanthera colubrina

    A thorny tree of the pea family, related to yopo. The seeds contain much bufotenine, up to over twelve per cent, as well as some DMT and 5-MeO-DMT. As a snuff they cause violent physical effects and short visions.

  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 902

    Chacruna

    Psychotria viridis

    A shrub of the coffee family up to five metres tall. The leaves contain DMT, a short-acting, powerfully mind-altering substance that only works by mouth together with an MAO inhibitor such as ayahuasca.

    Herbal knowledge of the Amazon
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 926

    Chiricaspi

    Brunfelsia grandiflora

    A shrub of the nightshade family up to three metres tall, with fragrant flowers that fade from purple to white. Contains scopoletin, among others, and compounds that cause convulsions in animals. Gives a feeling of cold and tingling, and in larger amounts dizziness and paralysis.

    Herbal knowledge of the Amazon+1
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 917

    Chuchuhuasi

    Maytenus macrocarpa (syn. Monteverdia macrocarpa); in Noord-Peru ook Heisteria acuminata

    A large tree with thick, reddish-brown bark. The bark contains triterpenes and sesquiterpenes, among other compounds; extracts were anti-inflammatory in experiments. Studies in people are lacking.

    Curanderismo of northern Peru
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 879

    Guayusa

    Ilex guayusa

    A relative of yerba mate; the leaf contains a lot of caffeine and is stimulating.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge+2
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 914

    Huanarpo

    Corynaea crassa

    An unusual parasitic plant without chlorophyll that lives on the roots of trees and shrubs; only a club-shaped flower spike appears above ground. Little is known about its effect in people.

    Curanderismo of northern Peru
  • Caution

    South 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
  • Caution

    South America · Herb · № 854

    Dragon's blood (sangre de drago)

    Croton lechleri

    A tree with a thick, blood-red sap. On the skin it dries quickly into a protective layer. Crofelemer, approved in the US since 2013 for diarrhoea in people with HIV, was developed from the sap.

    Herbal knowledge of the Amazon+1
Image of Salvia divinorum

Featured · Central America and the Caribbean · Curanderismo

Salvia divinorum

Salvia divinorum

A sage with large leaves containing salvinorin A, a very potent substance acting on the kappa opioid receptor. Brings short-lived, often intense changes in perception and the feeling of leaving the body.

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