CautionOceania · Food · № 53
Kakadu plum (gubinge)
Terminalia ferdinandiana
A bush food with exceptionally high vitamin C, measured at 2,300–3,150 mg per 100 grams.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge
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.
GrapeFolk magic and herbal magic
BuchuLocal African healing traditions
Indian tobaccoCherokee medicine
Lignum vitaeHerbal knowledge of the Caribbean
Yerba mateKallawaya healing knowledge
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CautionNorth America · Herb · № 990
Butterfly weed
Asclepias tuberosa
A milkweed with bright orange flower umbels that attract many butterflies, and a thick, tuberous root. For a milkweed it contains few cardiac glycosides, but it does contain steroids that in larger amounts can cause weakness, seizures and eye damage. The root was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia as pleurisy root, an expectorant.
Cherokee medicine
CautionAsia · Food · № 261
Cucumber
Cucumis sativus
Traditionally attributed effects: fruit nourishing and soothing; seeds cooling, diuretic, tonic; for throat complaints, strongly diuretic with sugar, in fever.
Ayurveda+2Folklore
CautionEurope · Herb · № 292
Cornflower
Centaurea cyanus
Traditionally attributed effects: tonic, stimulating, anti-inflammatory.
Western herbal medicine
CautionOceania · Herb · № 52
Kūmarahou
Pomaderris kumeraho
A plant in traditional Māori medicine; there is little scientific confirmation of its benefits.
Rongoā Māori+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 559
Lodh tree
Symplocos racemosa
Traditionally attributed effects: cooling, mildly astringent; for intestinal complaints, heavy menstruation, discharge from lax mucous membranes, oedema, liver complaints, fever, skin diseases, bleeding gums, eye diseases, ulcers, filariasis (chyluria, elephantiasis).
Ayurveda
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Food · № 266
Maize
Zea mays
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic, heals the urinary tract lining, tonic, soothing.
Maya healing knowledge+7Folklore
CautionEurope · Herb · № 71
Meadowsweet
Filipendula ulmaria
Contains salicylates. Traditionally used for heartburn, an irritated stomach and joint pain. Clinical research is scarce.
Western herbal medicine+2Folklore
CautionAsia · Herb · № 39
Neem
Azadirachta indica
Used for centuries in traditional medicine in India, but there is insufficient clinical evidence of medical benefits.
Ayurveda+3
CautionEurope · Herb · № 235
Eyebright
Euphrasia officinalis
Traditionally attributed effects: anticatarrhal, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory.
Western herbal medicine+1Folklore
CautionAsia · Herb · № 529
Oleander
Nerium indicum
Traditionally attributed effects: strongly diuretic and strengthens the heart (like digitalis), abortifacient.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Food · № 412
Elephant foot yam
Amorphophallus campanulatus
Traditionally attributed effects: stomachic, carminative, tonic; for haemorrhoids, indigestion and weakness, boils, eye inflammation, acute rheumatism; promotes menstruation.
Ayurveda
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 · № 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
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
CautionSouth 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
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 323
Slippery elm
Ulmus rubra (syn. U. fulva)
Traditionally attributed effects: soothing, nourishing, astringent.
Indigenous healing traditions of North America+3
CautionEurope · Herb · № 99
Red clover
Trifolium pratense
Contains isoflavones (plant oestrogens) and is sold for menopausal symptoms. NCCIH concludes there is no convincing evidence that it reduces hot flushes.
Western herbal medicine+2Folklore
CautionAsia · Herb · № 346
Red sandalwood
Pterocarpus santalinus
Traditionally attributed effects: antipyretic, fever-reducing, aphrodisiac, astringent, bitter, cooling, induces sweating, expels worms; for chronic dysentery, bleeding haemorrhoids, bile complaints, skin diseases.
Ayurveda+1
CautionEurope · Herb · № 45
Sage
Salvia officinalis
A culinary herb. A few small studies suggest possible effects on memory and blood lipids, but evidence is limited.
Monastic and folk knowledge+4Folklore
CautionSouth 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
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 633
Sassafras
Sassafras albidum
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind, dampness and cold in joint complaints, also when heat is involved, moves the blood in stasis after trauma or in absent menstruation, and is used for itchy skin.
Indigenous healing traditions of North America+4
CautionAsia · Herb · № 666
Scouring rush (mu zei)
Equisetum hyemale
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind-heat around the eyes, stops bleeding and is diuretic.
Chinese medical traditions+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 538
Bhumyamalaki
Phyllanthus fraternus
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic, astringent, cooling, laxative, bitter tonic; for oedema, gonorrhoea, urogenital diseases, jaundice, constipation, stomach ache, indigestion, dysentery, mild intermittent fever, heavy menstruation.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 664
Beach vitex fruit (man jing zi)
Vitex rotundifolia (syn. V. trifolia)
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind-heat in headache and eye pain, and relieves cramps and heaviness in the limbs.
Chinese medical traditions
CautionEurope · Herb · № 98
Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
Traditionally used for coughs and bronchitis; thymol from the oil inhibits bacteria and fungi in the laboratory. There are some studies of thyme-based cough syrups.
Greco-Roman medicine+4Folklore
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 152
Witch hazel
Hamamelis virginiana
Strongly astringent due to tannins. Witch hazel water and ointment are used externally for minor skin irritation, bruises and haemorrhoids; there is limited but reasonably supportive evidence.
Indigenous healing traditions of North America+4Folklore
CautionAsia · Herb · № 930
Turkestan mint
Lagochilus inebrians
A small, globular shrub of the mint family with white or pale pink flowers. Contains lagochilin, a diterpene that reduces bleeding and has a calming effect. Gives a mild intoxication.
CautionEurope · Food · № 21
Elderberry
Sambucus nigra
Berries have a folk-use history for cold and flu symptoms; clinical evidence remains preliminary.
Monastic and folk knowledge+4Folklore
CautionAsia · Herb · № 672
Buddleia flower bud (mi meng hua)
Buddleja officinalis
Traditionally attributed effects: cools liver heat in red, swollen, watery and light-sensitive eyes.
Chinese medical traditions
CautionEurope · Food · № 80
Walnut
Juglans regia
The nuts are a nutritious source of unsaturated fats. Leaf and green husk are astringent and were traditionally used for skin conditions and diarrhoea; clinical evidence is lacking.
Western herbal medicine+2Folklore
CautionEurope · 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
CautionNorth America · Food · № 965
Wild rice
Zizania palustris (en Z. aquatica)
An aquatic grass, not true rice. The long, dark grain contains more protein and fibre than white rice.
Anishinaabe medicine
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 952
Wild sarsaparilla
Aralia nudicaulis
A low plant of the ivy family with a long, creeping, aromatic root; related to ginseng and no relative of true sarsaparilla (Smilax).
Haudenosaunee medicine
CautionSouth 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
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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Traditions, kitchen and classical formulas
43 traditions
Cultures & traditions
How communities built up and passed on their knowledge of plants, region by region.
113 recipes
Recipes
Soups, teas and dishes in which herbs play a leading role.
146 formulas
Chinese formulas
The classical Chinese formulas, also listed by condition.