CautionSouth America · Herb · № 896
Altamisa
Ambrosia peruviana
An aromatic, hairy ragweed. In its native range it is used as a painkilling, anti-inflammatory, deworming and antiseptic remedy; good research is lacking.
Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
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
Also found
- Caution
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 1001
American sycamore
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.
Cherokee medicine
CautionAsia · Herb · № 569
Little ironweed
Vernonia cinerea
Traditionally attributed effects: fever-reducing, induces sweating, cleansing; decoction promotes sweating in fever; seeds antidote, expel worms, for leprosy and chronic skin diseases; plant for bladder cramps, difficult urination, haemorrhoids; flowers for conjunctivitis.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 563
Bibhitaki
Terminalia bellerica
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, tonic, expectorant, laxative (unripe fruit), cleansing.
Ayurveda+2
CautionEurope · Food · № 48
Stinging nettle
Urtica dioica
A food and fiber plant with a long tradition in folk medicine. Medical claims are not established.
Monastic and folk knowledge+3Folklore
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 959
Horseweed
Erigeron canadensis (syn. Conyza canadensis)
An annual of the daisy family with an upright, hairy stem and countless small white flower heads. Contains volatile oil, tannins and flavonoids; the oil was once used as 'oil of erigeron' for bleeding and diarrhoea.
Lakota medicine+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 525
Champak
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.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 660
Chinese lovage root (gao ben)
Ligusticum sinense
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind-cold and relieves above all headache at the crown, toothache and rheumatic pain.
Chinese medical traditions
CautionAsia · Herb · № 755
Cibotium (gou ji)
Cibotium barometz
Traditionally attributed effects: strengthens kidney yang, bones and tendons in a stiff, painful lower back and knees.
Chinese medical traditions
CautionAsia · Herb · № 528
Velvet bean
Mucuna pruriens
Traditionally attributed effects: seeds astringent, expel worms, strengthen the nerves, aphrodisiac; root tonic, stimulating, diuretic, laxative; for nervous diseases (paralysis), kidney diseases, oedema, elephantiasis, leucorrhoea, heavy menstruation, seminal loss.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 315
Glossy privet (nu zhen zi)
Ligustrum lucidum
Traditionally attributed effects: tonic, diuretic, stimulates the immune system.
Chinese medical traditions+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 344
Cardamom
Elettaria cardamomum
Traditionally attributed effects: aromatic, pungent, strengthens the heart, stomachic, laxative, diuretic, carminative; for asthma, bronchitis, haemorrhoids, bladder complaints, flatulence, cramps from laxatives, dizziness, indigestion, vomiting.
Ayurveda+2
CautionEurope · Herb · № 70
Field horsetail
Equisetum arvense
Rich in silica; traditionally used as a diuretic, for urinary infections and for hair, nails and connective tissue. Good clinical evidence is lacking.
Western herbal medicine+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 788
Inula flower (xuan fu hua)
Inula japonica
Traditionally attributed effects: moves stuck phlegm in the lungs and makes rebellious energy of lung and stomach descend.
Chinese medical traditions
CautionAsia · Herb · № 723
Loquat leaf (pi pa ye)
Eriobotrya japonica
Traditionally attributed effects: cools hot phlegm in the lungs and makes rebellious lung and stomach energy descend.
Chinese medical traditions+2
CautionAsia · Herb · № 130
Spikenard (jatamansi)
Nardostachys jatamansi
Used in Ayurveda as a calming remedy for insomnia and restlessness. There is mostly animal research; clinical evidence is lacking.
Ayurveda+4
CautionEurope · Herb · № 75
Cleavers
Galium aparine
Used in Western herbalism as a 'lymphatic' herb for swollen glands and skin conditions. Scientific evidence is lacking.
Monastic and folk knowledge+2
CautionEurope · Herb · № 102
Great mullein
Verbascum thapsus
Leaves and flowers contain mucilage and are traditionally used for irritating coughs and bronchitis; the flower oil for earache. Clinical evidence is limited.
Greco-Roman medicine+4
CautionOceania · Herb · № 842
Kukui (candlenut)
Aleurites moluccanus
A tree whose oil cares for the skin; the nuts are laxative.
Lāʻau lapaʻau in Hawaiʻi+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 655
Magnolia flower bud (xin yi hua)
Magnolia biondii (syn. M. liliflora)
Traditionally attributed effects: warms and opens the nose in blocked sinuses and headache from wind-cold.
Chinese medical traditions+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 348
Gotu kola
Centella asiatica
Traditionally attributed effects: cleansing, tonic, diuretic, locally stimulating, calming; for chronic ulcers, eczema, psoriasis, leprosy, epilepsy, insanity, swollen glands, abscesses, chronic rheumatism, diarrhoea in children.
Ayurveda+2
CautionEurope · Herb · № 314
Mouse-ear hawkweed
Pilosella officinarum (syn. Hieracium pilosella)
Traditionally attributed effects: antispasmodic, expectorant, anticatarrhal, diuretic, wound-healing.
Western herbal medicine
CautionAsia · Herb · № 737
Oriental arborvitae (ce bai ye)
Platycladus orientalis (syn. Biota orientalis)
Traditionally attributed effects: cools the blood and stops bleeding; dissolves phlegm and helps with burns.
Chinese medical traditions
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 153
Osha
Ligusticum porteri, L. sinense en L. wallichii
The root is traditionally used for sore throats, coughs and early colds. There is virtually no clinical research.
Indigenous healing traditions of North America+3
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 954
American pasqueflower
Pulsatilla nuttalliana (syn. P. patens subsp. multifida)
A low plant of the buttercup family with hairy purple flowers that appear before the leaves. Like other pasqueflowers, the fresh plant contains protoanemonin, which strongly irritates skin and mucous membranes and raises blisters.
Lakota medicine
CautionAsia · Herb · № 673
Rehmannia
Rehmannia glutinosa
Traditionally attributed effects: raw it cools the blood and nourishes yin; prepared (steamed with wine) it nourishes the blood and the kidney yin.
Chinese medical traditions+2
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 877
Tara
Tara spinosa (syn. Caesalpinia spinosa)
A thorny tree with red pods that are very rich in tannins. In laboratory tests, extracts of the pods inhibited several bacteria.
Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
CautionOceania · Herb · № 175
Tarata (lemonwood)
Pittosporum eugenioides
Mainly a fragrant plant: leaves, flowers and gum smell of lemon. Medicinal uses have not been studied.
Rongoā Māori
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 586
Lady's slipper
Cypripedium parviflorum (syn. C. pubescens)
Traditionally attributed effects: strengthens the nerves, antispasmodic, tonic, relaxing, diuretic; for menstrual pain and irregular menstruation, overstimulated nerves and insomnia from stress, pain-relieving.
Indigenous healing traditions of North America+4
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
CautionAsia · Herb · № 479
Dodder
Cuscuta reflexa
Traditionally attributed effects: carminative, expels worms, cleansing, antispasmodic; for stomach ache, constipation, flatulence, liver complaints, bile complaints; externally for itching and skin diseases.
Ayurveda+1
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1005
Wira wira
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.
Kallawaya healing knowledge
CautionAsia · Herb · № 128
White mulberry
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.
Chinese medical traditions+2
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 324
Soap bark
Quillaja saponaria
Traditionally attributed effects: expectorant, cleansing, anti-inflammatory.
Mapuche medicine+1
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 971
Black twinberry
Lonicera involucrata
A honeysuckle with yellow flowers in pairs, which later form two shiny black berries in red bracts. Effects not studied.
Kwakwaka'wakw medicine
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.
Read moreFrom plant to use
Ways to prepare herbs
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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.