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 · № 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.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 594
Polygonatum biflorum
Traditionally attributed effects: tonic, astringent, relaxing; strengthens and lubricates tendons, ligaments and joints, helps with prolapse of the uterus and bladder, calms the heart rhythm, moistens dry conditions (dry skin, stool, airways).
CautionAsia · Herb · № 650
Saposhnikovia divaricata
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind; for muscle pain, painful diarrhoea, rheumatic complaints and cramps.
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.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 644
Ligusticum chuanxiong (syn. L. striatum)
Traditionally attributed effects: promotes circulation, helps with menstrual complaints and as a restorative tonic after childbirth, and is said to lower high blood pressure; warming.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 295
Chionanthus virginicus
Traditionally attributed effects: promotes bile, stimulates the liver, tonic, diuretic.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 680
Sophora flavescens
Traditionally attributed effects: drains damp heat in itchy skin, discharge and dysentery; externally as a wash.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 709
Stephania tetrandra
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic in oedema (especially of the legs) and pain-relieving in hot, swollen joints.
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 456
Cassia tora
Traditionally attributed effects: mildly laxative, cleansing; intestinal complaints and fever when teething, compress for gout, sciatica and joint pain; seeds for ringworm, scabies and eczema; root for snake bites.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 298
Chelidonium majus
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic, cleansing, stimulates the liver, anti-inflammatory.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 534
Paederia foetida
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic; for urinary retention, bladder stones, haemorrhoids, inflamed spleen, diarrhoea in children, rheumatism and stiff joints, abdomen bloated by gas.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 664
Vitex rotundifolia (syn. V. trifolia)
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind-heat in headache and eye pain, and relieves cramps and heaviness in the limbs.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 236
Calluna vulgaris
The flowering herb was drunk as tea for bladder complaints and sleeplessness. Heather honey is a prized, jelly-like honey. A medicinal effect has not been studied.
CautionAsia · Mineral · № 702
Talcum (hydromagnesiumsilicaat)
Traditionally attributed effects: cooling and soothing in painful urination and summer heat; externally drying on weeping skin.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 707
Polygonum aviculare
Traditionally attributed effects: drains damp heat in cystitis, stops itching and was used against worms.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 667
Spirodela polyrhiza
Traditionally attributed effects: diaphoretic and diuretic; helps rashes come out.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 581
Veronicastrum virginicum
Traditionally attributed effects: laxative, stimulating, supports the liver, promotes bile; decongests liver and gallbladder, for gallbladder pain and jaundice.
CautionEurope · Food · № 21
Sambucus nigra
Berries have a folk-use history for cold and flu symptoms; clinical evidence remains preliminary.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 466
Clitoria ternatea
Traditionally attributed effects: root mildly laxative, diuretic, expels worms; seeds strongly laxative; for ascites, enlarged abdominal organs, migraine (flower juice), gonorrhoea, bladder irritation, ulcers, swollen joints.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 694
Dictamnus dasycarpus
Traditionally attributed effects: drains heat, dampness and wind in itchy, weeping skin conditions.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 106
Menyanthes trifoliata
A strong bitter traditionally used to stimulate appetite and digestion and for rheumatic complaints. Clinical evidence is lacking.
CautionAfrica · Food · № 389
Citrullus lanatus
A very juicy fruit that quenches thirst. Oil from the seeds is used in hair care. In Chinese medicine the fruit is considered cooling and diuretic.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 86
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.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 767
Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa
Traditionally attributed effects: nourishes heart yin and calms the mind in insomnia and restlessness; curbs night sweats.
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.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 598
Quercus alba
Traditionally attributed effects: strongly astringent; strengthens lax tissue (diarrhoea, inflamed gums, chronic nasal congestion, weak bladder), stops bleeding (nosebleeds, internal bleeding).
CautionAsia · Herb · № 712
Dioscorea hypoglauca (syn. D. collettii)
Traditionally attributed effects: clears cloudy urine and expels wind and dampness in rheumatism and skin complaints.
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 632
Anemopsis californica
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind and dampness in joint pain that worsens in cold, wet weather, opens blocked sinuses and dries dampness in slow-healing wounds and swellings.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 121
Artemisia annua
Source of artemisinin, the basis of today's standard malaria treatment. Teas or herbal preparations, however, are not a reliable malaria treatment; the WHO advises against them.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 706
Bassia scoparia (syn. Kochia scoparia)
Traditionally attributed effects: drains damp heat in cystitis and itchy, weeping skin.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 108
Berberis vulgaris
Bark and root contain berberine, which is being studied for blood sugar and cholesterol. The berries are rich in vitamin C. Evidence for barberry itself is limited.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 554
Solanum nigrum
Traditionally attributed effects: cleansing, calming, induces sweating and urination, expectorant; for oedema, chronically enlarged liver, jaundice, chronic skin diseases, coughing up blood, haemorrhoids, kidney and bladder inflammation, gonorrhoea, eye diseases; pain-relieving wash.
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.