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 · № 128
Morus alba en M. nigra
The leaf (sang ye) is being studied for post-meal blood sugar and is used in Chinese medicine for coughs and fevers; bark, twigs and berries each have their own use too. Evidence is preliminary.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 429
Balanites aegyptiaca
Traditionally attributed effects: laxative, expels worms; seeds for cough and colic, oil on burns and freckles, seed extract lowers blood pressure.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 478
Curcuma zedoaria
Traditionally attributed effects: stimulating, carminative, expectorant, soothing, diuretic, skin-irritant, purifies the blood.
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.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 812
Hypoxis hemerocallidea
A corm widely traded as a tonic. The evidence for its effects is weak.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 739
Imperata cylindrica
Traditionally attributed effects: cools the blood and stops bleeding; promotes urination and cools lung and stomach.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 160
Panax quinquefolius
Chinese medicine regards it as more 'cooling' than Asian ginseng and uses it for fatigue and thirst. Some studies find a slight effect on post-meal blood sugar and colds; evidence is limited.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 628
Asarum caudatum, A. canadense en verwante soorten
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind-cold, opens a blocked nose, warms the lung in cough with clear phlegm and expels cold and dampness in menstrual pain and other pain.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 1001
Platanus occidentalis
One of the largest broadleaf trees of eastern America, with a trunk that peels in patches of white, green and brown. The bark contains tannins and betulinic acid. It is a parent of the London plane of European streets.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 371
Acacia senegal
A soluble fibre that forms a mucilaginous solution in water. It soothes the throat and stomach and is being studied as a prebiotic; it can cause wind and bloating. There is no evidence that it treats viral infections such as HPV.
CautionEurope · Food · № 65
Asparagus officinalis en A. racemosus
A nutritious vegetable; root and shoots were traditionally used as a diuretic. There is no good evidence for a medicinal effect.
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 · № 310
Platycodon grandiflorus
Traditionally attributed effects: expectorant, antifungal, antibacterial, lowers blood sugar.
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 · № 939
Uvularia perfoliata
A low plant with hanging, pale yellow bells and leaves that clasp the stem. Little is known about its compounds.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 950
Lindera benzoin
A shrub of the laurel family with fragrant leaves and twigs and red berries.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 64
Artemisia vulgaris
Traditionally used as a digestive bitter and to bring on delayed periods. Clinical evidence is largely lacking.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 123
Citrus × aurantium
The dried unripe fruit (zhi shi) and peel are used in Chinese medicine for bloating and sluggish digestion. NCCIH warns that weight-loss products containing bitter orange (synephrine) pose risks to the heart and blood pressure.
CautionAfrica · Food · № 814
Garcinia kola
A bitter seed that is chewed and offered as a sign of hospitality and at ceremonies; as a folk remedy also for coughs and sore throats.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 735
Bletilla striata
Traditionally attributed effects: stops bleeding in lung and stomach and promotes wound healing.
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 · № 34
Hydrastis canadensis
There is not enough evidence to determine whether goldenseal helps any health condition.
CautionAsia · Food · № 428
Averrhoa carambola
Traditionally attributed effects: laxative, cooling, antiscorbutic, antidysenteric; cooling thirst-quencher in fever, ripe fruit for bleeding (internal) haemorrhoids.
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 · № 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.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 642
Asparagus cochinchinensis
Traditionally attributed effects: moistening; for recovery after illness or surgery, chronically dry skin and for the production of sex hormones.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 738
Artemisia argyi
Traditionally attributed effects: warms the meridians and uterus, stops bleeding from cold and relieves pain; the herb of moxa.
CautionAsia · Food · № 636
Ziziphus jujuba
Traditionally attributed effects: sweet and strengthening in fatigue, anaemia and low energy; builds strength and blood and softens herbal dishes.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 125
Ephedra sinica
Contains ephedrine, which widens the airways and stimulates the nervous system and heart. It is the origin of modern ephedrine and pseudoephedrine medicines. As a supplement it has proved dangerous.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 681
Fraxinus chinensis subsp. rhynchophylla
Traditionally attributed effects: for diarrhoea and dysentery from damp heat, red eyes and cough with heat.
CautionAsia · Food · № 635
Dioscorea polystachya (syn. D. opposita)
Traditionally attributed effects: strengthens spleen, stomach and lungs, helps regulate the hormone system in women and is said to lower blood sugar.
Caution
CautionAsia · Herb · № 720
Arisaema heterophyllum (en A. erubescens)
Traditionally attributed effects: dries phlegm and expels wind and phlegm from the meridians in convulsions and paralysis.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 639
Codonopsis pilosula
Traditionally attributed effects: reduces fatigue, supports the production of blood cells and strengthens spleen, stomach and lungs.
CautionAsia · Mushroom · № 147
Ophiocordyceps sinensis (syn. Cordyceps sinensis)
A fungus that parasitises caterpillars. Used in Tibetan and Chinese medicine for fatigue, lung complaints and low libido. Studies are small and there is no convincing evidence.
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 928
Turnera diffusa
A small, woody shrub with small, strongly scented leaves and yellow flowers. Contains flavonoids such as apigenin and acacetin, terpenes and a small amount of cyanogenic glycosides. Considered mildly calming and uplifting; which substances cause this is not known.
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.