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 · Food · № 518
Luffa acutangula
Traditionally attributed effects: soothing, diuretic, bitter tonic, nourishing, expectorant, lowers blood sugar; seeds emetic and laxative; for enlarged spleen, dysentery; leaves on ulcers, ringworm, haemorrhoids, leprosy, insect and snake bites.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 112
Glechoma hederacea
Traditionally used for blocked noses, sinus complaints and coughs. There is hardly any clinical research.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 480
Cynodon dactylon
Traditionally attributed effects: soothing, astringent, diuretic, stops bleeding, mildly laxative; for oedema, blood in the urine, vomiting, chronic diarrhoea, hysteria, bleeding haemorrhoids, bladder irritation, bladder stones, gout and rheumatism.
CautionAfrica · Food · № 807
Cyclopia intermedia
A caffeine-free, sweetish tea related to rooibos. Health effects have not been established.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 895
Tagetes minuta
A tall, strongly scented marigold with small flower heads. Its essential oil is used in perfume and soft drinks.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1010
Chuquiraga spinosa (en C. rotundifolia)
A prickly shrub with hard, pointed little leaves and orange-yellow flower heads. Contains phenolic acids, flavonoids, saponins and alkaloids; animal studies point to an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 887
Laccopetalum giganteum
A giant buttercup with a rosette of thick leaves and large greenish-yellow flowers. Its compounds and effects have barely been studied.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 914
Corynaea crassa
An unusual parasitic plant without chlorophyll that lives on the roots of trees and shrubs; only a club-shaped flower spike appears above ground. Little is known about its effect in people.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 78
Hyssopus officinalis
Traditionally used for coughs, colds and congestion. Clinical evidence is lacking.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 234
Ulmus spp.
The inner bark of the European elm is, like that of the American slippery elm, mucilaginous and was used for skin complaints and diarrhoea. There is little research.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 103
Verbena officinalis
Traditionally used for nervousness, exhaustion and as a digestive bitter. Scientific evidence is largely lacking.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 524
Mesua ferrea
Traditionally attributed effects: blossoms, root and bark bitter, aromatic, induce sweating; dried flowers astringent, stomachic, carminative; for heavy colds, gastritis, bronchitis, vomiting, dysentery, thirst, excessive sweating, bleeding haemorrhoids.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 307
Lobelia inflata
Traditionally attributed effects: relaxing, expectorant, induces sweating, emetic, antispasmodic, anti-asthmatic.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 461
Cinnamomum tamala
Traditionally attributed effects: carminative, stimulating, diuretic and sudorific, decongestant, promotes milk flow; for lack of appetite, bladder complaints, dry mouth, colds, diarrhoea, nausea, indigestion, flatulence, vomiting.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 994
Gillenia trifoliata (syn. Porteranthus trifoliatus)
A perennial of the rose family with three-parted leaves and loose sprays of white or pale pink flowers with five narrow petals. The root is emetic and purgative; it was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia as American ipecac.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 537
Peucedanum graveolens
Traditionally attributed effects: carminative, antispasmodic; for flatulence, hiccups, colic and stomach ache, reduces cramps from laxatives and dysentery; drink for women after childbirth; leaves on boils and abscesses.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 432
Barringtonia acutangula
Traditionally attributed effects: aromatic, carminative, emetic; for nasal and respiratory catarrh, chest pain, headache (snuff), diarrhoea and dysentery, bitter tonic; root cooling and antipyretic.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 451
Cannabis indica
Traditionally attributed effects: intoxicating, stomachic, antispasmodic, pain-relieving, stimulating, aphrodisiac, calming; sleep-inducing, for painful menstruation, itchy skin diseases, headache, mania, whooping cough, asthma, nervous vomiting.
CautionAsia · Food · № 571
Zizyphus martiana
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, stomachic; leaves for gonorrhoea, conjunctivitis, boils and abscesses, painful urination; bark for diarrhoea, dysentery, colic and gum inflammation.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 504
Gossypium herbaceum
Traditionally attributed effects: soothing, laxative, expectorant, aphrodisiac, promotes milk flow, promotes menstruation; seeds for intermittent fever and dysentery; oil for rheumatism, freckles, herpes, scabies, wounds, nerve pain; compress on bruises and burns.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 543
Pterocarpus marsupium
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, cleansing, lowers blood sugar; kino for diarrhoea and toothache; bark for diarrhoea and diabetes; leaves on boils, ulcers and skin diseases.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 490
Erythrina variegata
Traditionally attributed effects: promotes bile, expectorant, fever-reducing, expels worms; for dysentery, worms, eye inflammation, rheumatic joints, liver complaints, diabetes, painful menstruation and infertility, promotes milk flow.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 553
Solanum indicum
Traditionally attributed effects: aphrodisiac, astringent, carminative, strengthens the heart, diuretic, expectorant; for asthma, dry cough, difficult childbirth, chronic fever, colic, worms, painful urination, oedema, catarrh, vomiting, itching.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 454
Cassia fistula
Traditionally attributed effects: laxative, tonic, fever-reducing; fruit pulp mildly laxative (safe for children and pregnant women); leaf for ringworm, chilblains, rheumatism, facial paralysis; root for fever and heart disease.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 983
Iochroma fuchsioides
A shrub of the nightshade family with clusters of tubular orange-red flowers. Withanolides, substances also found in ashwagandha, have been isolated from it. Why the plant acts as an intoxicant has not been explained.
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 309
Piscidia piscipula
Traditionally attributed effects: calming, pain-relieving.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 687
Lygodium japonicum
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic in cystitis and stones; also for sore throat and mumps.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 723
Eriobotrya japonica
Traditionally attributed effects: cools hot phlegm in the lungs and makes rebellious lung and stomach energy descend.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 785
Prunus japonica
Traditionally attributed effects: moistens the bowel in constipation with stagnation and promotes urination in oedema.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 126
Jasminum officinale / J. grandiflorum
Best known as a fragrance and in jasmine tea; jasmine aromatherapy is used for relaxation. Medical claims are unproven.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 81
Juniperus communis
The berries are traditionally used as a diuretic, for digestive complaints and externally for joint pain. Clinical evidence is limited.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 925
Mimosa tenuiflora (syn. Mimosa hostilis)
A thorny tree or shrub of the pea family with feathery leaves and white, fragrant flower spikes. The root bark contains much DMT. Taken by mouth, DMT normally does not work without an MAO inhibitor; why the jurema drink is still said to work is not clear.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 981
Justicia pectoralis (syn. Dianthera pectoralis)
A low, creeping herb of the acanthus family. The dried leaf smells strongly of hay because of coumarin and umbelliferone. Reports of tryptamines in the plant have not been confirmed.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 458
Celastrus paniculatus
Traditionally attributed effects: oil skin-irritant; seeds cleansing, stimulating, strengthen the nerves, improve memory and intellect; for rheumatism, gout, paralysis, leprosy, beriberi; leaf juice as an antidote in opium poisoning; bark abortifacient.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 417
Anthocephalus indicus
Traditionally attributed effects: bark tonic, fever-reducing, astringent; fruit cooling; for fever, mouth ulcers and stomatitis, eye inflammation, stomach irritation in children, snake bites.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 970
Lomatium nudicaule (in Boas: Peucedanum)
An umbellifer with blue-green leaves and yellow umbels. The seeds are strongly aromatic; related lomatiums are being studied for antiviral effects.
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.