From Ayurveda to Rongoā Māori
Communities around the world learned how plants nourish, care and heal. Here their traditions stand beside present-day use, with respect for every culture.
GrapeFolk magic and herbal magic
BuchuLocal African healing traditions
Indian tobaccoCherokee medicine
Lignum vitaeHerbal knowledge of the Caribbean
Yerba mateKallawaya healing knowledge
CautionEurope · Herb · № 62
Arctium lappa
In Europe the root was considered a 'blood-cleansing' herb for skin problems such as eczema and acne; the seed is used in Chinese medicine for sore throats. Clinical evidence is weak.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 788
Inula japonica
Traditionally attributed effects: moves stuck phlegm in the lungs and makes rebellious energy of lung and stomach descend.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 126
Jasminum officinale / J. grandiflorum
Best known as a fragrance and in jasmine tea; jasmine aromatherapy is used for relaxation. Medical claims are unproven.
CautionAfrica · Food · № 12
Allium sativum
A food with a long history of use. Supplement research suggests only limited effects and does not establish a treatment.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 231
Coriandrum sativum
Traditionally attributed effects: aromatic, stimulating, carminative, stomachic, cooling, tonic, diuretic; for flatulence, colic, rheumatism, nerve pain, sore throat, indigestion, vomiting, colds, bile complaints.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 217
Origanum vulgare
A culinary herb with carvacrol and thymol, which inhibit bacteria and fungi in the laboratory. There is no good evidence that oregano oil treats infections in humans; undiluted oil irritates skin and mucous membranes.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 956
Artemisia frigida
A low, silver-grey, strongly scented wormwood shrub. Contains a volatile oil with camphor and cineole and, like other wormwoods, thujone.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 958
Ratibida columnifera (syn. R. columnaris)
A member of the daisy family with drooping yellow or red-brown ray flowers around a long, columnar centre that smells when bruised. Effects not studied.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 133
Plantago ovata
The seed husks form a mucilaginous gel: an established bulk-forming fibre for constipation and mild diarrhoea that can also modestly lower LDL cholesterol.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 989
Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium (syn. Gnaphalium obtusifolium)
An annual, grey-felted herb of the daisy family, with straw-coloured flower heads that keep their shape when dried. The dried herb smells sweet. Flavonoids and essential oil have been found in it; its effect is little studied.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 2
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.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 140
Santalum album
Used in Ayurveda as a 'cooling' remedy for skin irritation and urinary complaints; the oil is used in aromatherapy. Clinical evidence is limited.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 91
Salix alba
The bark contains salicin, which the body partly converts to salicylic acid. There are hints of a moderate effect on low back pain and joint pain.
CautionAfrica · Food · № 356
Sesamum indicum
Traditionally attributed effects: soothing, softens the skin, diuretic, promotes menstruation and milk flow, laxative; leaves for respiratory complaints, diarrhoea and dysentery in children, bladder catarrh; seeds for bleeding haemorrhoids, absent or painful menstruation.
CautionNorth America · Food · № 935
Carya ovata
A nut tree of the walnut family, with bark that peels away in long strips. The nuts are rich and sweet.
CautionAsia · Mushroom · № 145
Lentinula edodes
An edible mushroom. Lentinan from shiitake is researched and used in oncology in Japan; there is little evidence for ordinary shiitake as an 'immune booster'.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 406
Albizzia lebbek
Traditionally attributed effects: cleansing, insect-repellent, anti-allergic; for bronchitis, leprosy, paralysis, gum inflammation, worms, snake bites and scorpion stings, night blindness.
CautionOceania · Other · № 55
Calophyllum inophyllum
An oil used mainly in skin care; medical claims are not established.
CautionSouth America · Food · № 1011
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.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 634
Gaultheria procumbens
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind and dampness and cools heat in hot, swollen joints and muscle pain, drains damp heat in the urinary tract and moves stagnant qi and blood in pain.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1005
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.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 209
Helianthus annuus
Sunflower seeds and oil are rich in vitamin E and linoleic acid. The oil is used for dry skin; claims about scars or skin ageing have not been shown.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 135
Piper nigrum
Important warming spices in Ayurveda, used for sluggish digestion and colds. Piperine from pepper increases the absorption of some substances, such as curcumin.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 576
Juglans nigra
Traditionally attributed effects: cleansing, laxative, astringent, antibacterial, antiparasitic, antifungal; cleanses and strengthens the large intestine, for skin problems, traveller's diarrhoea, sinusitis, underactive thyroid.
Featured · Central America and the Caribbean · Curanderismo
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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43 traditions
How communities built up and passed on their knowledge of plants, region by region.
113 recipes
Soups, teas and dishes in which herbs play a leading role.
146 formulas
The classical Chinese formulas, also listed by condition.