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
CautionAsia · Herb · № 404
Aegle marmelos
Traditionally attributed effects: ripe fruit cooling, nourishing, mildly laxative; unripe fruit astringent and aids digestion; for chronic diarrhoea and dysentery, asthma (leaves), intermittent fever, melancholy and palpitations.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 677
Scutellaria baicalensis
Traditionally attributed effects: cools and dries damp heat, especially in the lungs and upper body; calms a restless foetus from heat.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 526
Mimusops elengi
Traditionally attributed effects: expels worms, antihistamine, astringent, aromatic, strengthens the heart, tonic, fever-reducing; for catarrh of the bladder and urethra, fever, gum and tooth diseases, leucoderma, heart disease, snake bites, chronic dysentery.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 574
Populus balsamifera
Traditionally attributed effects: buds: stimulating, tonic, diuretic, soothing, expectorant; bark: expectorant, laxative; for skin problems (eczema, psoriasis), dry cough, constipation, kidney/bladder support, rheumatism and gout.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 573
Abies balsamea
Traditionally attributed effects: stimulating, antiseptic, pain-relieving; for respiratory infections, cough and sore throat, cystitis and enteritis, aid to quitting smoking; externally for burns, wounds, haemorrhoids, muscle pain.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 496
Ficus benghalensis
Traditionally attributed effects: antiseptic, aphrodisiac, astringent, cooling, stops bleeding, lowers blood sugar; leaves for diarrhoea and dysentery; milky sap externally for pain, bruises, ulcers, rheumatism, lumbago; bark for diabetes, gonorrhoea.
CautionAfrica · Other · № 386
Adansonia digitata
The dry fruit pulp is sour and rich in vitamin C and fibre; oil from the seeds is used for skin and hair. Medical claims have not been studied.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 950
Lindera benzoin
A shrub of the laurel family with fragrant leaves and twigs and red berries.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 747
Aconitum carmichaelii (bereide zijwortel)
Traditionally attributed effects: the most strongly warming remedy in Chinese medicine, for collapse of yang and pain from cold.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 186
Betula pendula
Traditionally attributed effects: bitter, astringent, antirheumatic.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 991
Cornus florida
A small tree with large white bracts around a knot of tiny flowers in spring, red berries and red autumn leaves. The bark is astringent and bitter; in the American Civil War it served as a substitute for quinine, and in the laboratory compounds from the bark moderately inhibited the malaria parasite. The berries are poisonous to people.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 306
Hydrangea arborescens
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic, laxative, stimulates the kidneys.
CautionOceania · Herb · № 176
Melaleuca cajuputi, M. viridiflora, M. leucadendra e.a.
Both relatives of tea tree yield an essential oil used externally for muscle pain and in inhalations for colds. Clinical evidence is limited.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 630
Scrophularia californica, S. lanceolata
Traditionally attributed effects: cools heat in the blood and nourishes yin, drains damp heat and disperses swellings.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 931
Tsuga canadensis
An evergreen conifer with short, flat needles. The bark is rich in tannins and was once used to tan leather. Medicinal effects have not been studied.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 288
Frangula purshiana (syn. Rhamnus purshiana)
Traditionally attributed effects: laxative, digestive tonic.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 396
Acacia catechu
Traditionally attributed effects: strongly astringent; for chronic diarrhoea and dysentery, bleeding haemorrhoids, uterine bleeding, leucorrhoea; bleeding or inflamed gums, mouth ulcers, enlarged tonsils; bedsores; promotes milk flow.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 162
Anemopaegma arvense / Erythroxylum catuaba
Sold in Brazil as a stimulant and aphrodisiac. There is no good clinical research; products vary because several different trees are called 'catuaba'.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 924
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.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1002
Escallonia resinosa (en verwante soorten, o.a. E. micrantha)
A shrub or tree of 2 to 10 metres with reddish, papery bark and small, finely toothed leaves full of resin and essential oil. Almost nothing has been studied about its effect in people.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 525
Michelia champaca
Traditionally attributed effects: decongestant, cleansing, stomachic, tonic, laxative, carminative; for gastritis, chronic rheumatism, abscesses, fever, indigestion, nausea, kidney diseases, gonorrhoea; flower oil for headache, eye inflammation and gout.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 862
Fuchsia magellanica
The wild fuchsia, with drooping red and purple flowers. Traditionally as a diuretic and for fever; research is lacking.
Asia · Herb · № 304
Coptis chinensis
Traditionally attributed effects: promotes bile, antibacterial, pain-relieving, calming, anti-inflammatory.
CautionAsia · Food · № 572
Zizyphus vulgaris
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic, lowers blood sugar, soothing, soothing to the chest.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 926
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.
CautionAsia · Food · № 445
Buchanania lanzan
Traditionally attributed effects: soothing, cleansing, laxative, diuretic; seeds nutritious, gum for diarrhoea, ointment for itching and skin blemishes, oil for swollen neck glands, substitute for almond oil.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 473
Croton oblongifolius
Traditionally attributed effects: bark and root cleansing and promote bile; seeds laxative; bark for sprains and liver diseases, poultices on swellings, for snake bites.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 189
Pinus spp.
The scent of needles and resin is experienced as fresh and cleansing. Pine buds and needles contain essential oil and vitamin C; a medicinal effect has hardly been studied.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 394
Abroma augusta
Traditionally attributed effects: leaves and stem soothing, root bark promotes menstruation; for painful menstruation, regulates menstruation, uterine tonic, for gonorrhoea; can cause skin irritation.
CautionOceania · Food · № 177
Grewia retusifolia
The small fruits are edible; the name dysentery bush refers to its traditional use for diarrhoea. There is no clinical research.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 908
Virola theiodora (en verwante Virola-soorten)
A tree of the nutmeg family with blood-red resin in its bark. The resin contains a lot of 5-MeO-DMT and DMT, and also beta-carbolines. As snuff it brings excitement, numb limbs, nausea and visions within minutes.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 188
Acer spp.
Maple syrup is the boiled-down sap of the sugar maple. It consists mainly of sugar and some minerals, such as manganese; it is a sweetener, not a medicine.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 104
Viburnum opulus en V. prunifolium
The bark is traditionally used for muscle cramps and period pain; its English name is cramp bark. Clinical evidence is lacking.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 433
Bauhinia tomentosa
Traditionally attributed effects: against dysentery, expels worms; fruit diuretic; seeds tonic and aphrodisiac; for hepatitis, dysentery, tumours and wounds, snake bites.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 327
Rhus aromatica
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, tonic, antidiabetic, diuretic.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 596
Rhus glabra
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, cleansing, tonic, wound-healing, antiseptic; strengthens the digestive tract (ulcers, diarrhoea), curbs excessive secretions (urine leakage, night sweats, bleeding), may lower blood sugar, for prolapse.
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.