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
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 629
Ephedra viridis, E. nevadensis, E. californica
Traditionally attributed effects: opens the surface in wind-cold with sneezing and a watery nose, mildly eases wheezing and promotes urination.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 509
Hibiscus abelmoschus
Traditionally attributed effects: stimulating, carminative, cooling, diuretic, soothing, stomachic, antispasmodic, tonic; for nervous weakness, hysteria, indigestion, gonorrhoea, catarrh of the bladder and airways, itching.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 865
Gunnera tinctoria
A giant plant with leaves up to two metres across. The peeled stalks are edible; root and stalks are rich in tannins.
CautionAsia · Food · № 425
Artocarpus integrifolia
Traditionally attributed effects: ripe fruit soothing, nourishing, laxative; unripe fruit astringent; milky sap for swollen glands, abscesses and snake bites; root for diarrhoea; leaf and root for skin diseases.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 482
Delphinium denudatum
Traditionally attributed effects: stimulating, cleansing, stomachic, tonic, pain-relieving; for syphilis and rheumatism, recovery after fever, toothache, antidote for snake bites and aconite poisoning.
CautionOceania · Food · № 50
Morinda citrifolia
Traditionally used for colds, infections, fever, and stomach complaints. There is no good evidence of treatment effects.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 638
Panax notoginseng
Traditionally attributed effects: purifies the blood and improves circulation, stops bleeding, soothes pain and helps bruises and swellings recover.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 529
Nerium indicum
Traditionally attributed effects: strongly diuretic and strengthens the heart (like digitalis), abortifacient.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 421
Argyreia speciosa
Traditionally attributed effects: cleansing, aphrodisiac, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, tonic, soothing; for elephantiasis, arthritis, rheumatic swelling, overweight, skin diseases, boils, ear infection.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 488
Elephantopus scaber
Traditionally attributed effects: strengthens the heart, astringent, cleansing, fever-reducing, antibiotic; for painful urination, urethral discharge, diarrhoea, dysentery, vomiting, snake bites, ulcers, eczema.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 999
Impatiens capensis
An annual, juicy herb with orange, spotted flowers. Ripe seed pods burst open when touched and shoot the seeds away, hence the names touch-me-not and jewelweed. The sap contains saponins and naphthoquinones; one study found it can prevent a poison ivy rash after short exposure, though washing with soap works at least as well.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 434
Bauhinia variegata
Traditionally attributed effects: bark cleansing, tonic, astringent; root carminative; flowers laxative; for sore throat, cough, bleeding haemorrhoids, heavy menstruation, swollen neck glands, ulcers, diarrhoea, worms, overweight.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 153
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.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 97
Taraxacum officinale
The leaf is mildly diuretic; the bitter root was used for the liver and digestion. NCCIH notes there is little human research.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 674
Lithospermum erythrorhizon (en Arnebia euchroma)
Traditionally attributed effects: cools and moves the blood in dark rashes; externally for burns and eczema.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 443
Borassus flabellifer
Traditionally attributed effects: root cooling and restorative; sap diuretic, cooling, stimulating, anti-inflammatory; for hiccups, gastric catarrh, syphilis, gonorrhoea, bile and liver complaints, enlarged spleen, diabetes, tuberculosis.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 437
Bergenia ligulata
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic, soothing, astringent, tonic; known for dissolving kidney stones; for fever, diarrhoea, lung complaints, eye inflammation, teething in children.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 154
Passiflora incarnata
Used for anxiety and sleep problems. NCCIH notes some indications of an effect on anxiety but limited evidence.
South America · Herb · № 912
Geranium ayavacense en Geranium sessiliflorum
Low, rosette-forming cranesbills with a thick root. They contain tannins. Whether the tea lowers blood sugar has not been properly studied in people.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 522
Melia azedarach
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, tonic, antipyretic, expels worms; fruit laxative; oil insecticidal and antiseptic.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 685
Patrinia scabiosifolia (en P. villosa)
Traditionally attributed effects: detoxifies, drains pus and moves the blood in pain with heat.
CautionEurope · Food · № 259
Daucus carota
Traditionally attributed effects: stimulating, diuretic, tonic, carminative; expels kidney and bladder stones, relieves lower back pain from the kidneys, reduces oedema, restores the bladder, stimulates digestion; seed traditionally as a contraceptive.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 219
Petroselinum crispum
A culinary herb rich in vitamins C and K. Root and seed were used as a diuretic. Large amounts of seed or oil are toxic and can induce contractions.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 903
Lophophora williamsii
A small, spineless, blue-green cactus with a long taproot. Contains mescaline and over thirty other alkaloids. After a few hours mescaline brings colourful visions that last up to half a day, often after a phase of nausea and vomiting.
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 391
Maranta arundinacea
Traditionally attributed effects: absorbs moisture.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1009
Ephedra americana
A leafless shrub with green, jointed stems, related to the Chinese ma huang. Ephedra species contain ephedrine, which widens the airways but also raises heart rate and blood pressure; how much this species contains has been little studied.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 132
Paeonia lactiflora en P. suffruticosa
The peeled root (bai shao, white peony) is used in Chinese medicine for cramps, period pain and muscle pain. There are studies of combination formulas but few of peony alone.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 946
Chimaphila umbellata
A low, evergreen dwarf shrub with leathery leaves and pink nodding flowers. Contains arbutin and related compounds, like bearberry.
CautionAsia · Mushroom · № 146
Wolfiporia cocos
One of the most widely used remedies in Chinese medicine, for fluid retention, poor digestion and restless sleep. Clinical research on fu ling alone is scarce.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 956
Artemisia frigida
A low, silver-grey, strongly scented wormwood shrub. Contains a volatile oil with camphor and cineole and, like other wormwoods, thujone.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 958
Ratibida columnifera (syn. R. columnaris)
A member of the daisy family with drooping yellow or red-brown ray flowers around a long, columnar centre that smells when bruised. Effects not studied.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 441
Boerhaavia diffusa
Traditionally attributed effects: bitter, stomachic, laxative, diuretic, expectorant, induces sweating, anti-inflammatory; for asthma, jaundice, oedema, anaemia, internal inflammation, snake bites.
CautionAsia · Food · № 545
Raphanus sativus
Traditionally attributed effects: seeds and leaves diuretic, laxative, dissolve stones; juice against scurvy; for painful and difficult urination, stones, urinary diseases, haemorrhoids, stomach ache; syrup for hoarseness, whooping cough and chest complaints.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 915
Krameria lappacea (syn. Krameria triandra)
A low shrub that is partly parasitic on the roots of other plants. The red root is rich in tannins and is therefore astringent. In Europe rhatany root is listed in the pharmacopoeia and used in mouthwashes and gum remedies.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 181
Rauvolfia serpentina
The root contains reserpine, which lowers blood pressure and has a sedative effect. In the 1950s reserpine was one of the first modern antihypertensives and antipsychotics, but it has largely been replaced by drugs with fewer side effects.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 673
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.
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.
Read moreFrom plant to use
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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.