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
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1007
Buddleja coriacea (en verwante Andes-soorten)
A tough shrub or tree with small, leathery leaves, rusty-brown underneath, and fragrant orange-yellow flowers. Little has been studied about its effect in people.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 896
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.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 889
Grimolobium pubescens (syn. Otholobium pubescens, Psoralea pubescens)
A shrub of the pea family with leaves in threes. It contains bakuchiol, among other compounds; extracts lowered blood sugar in experiments with mice. Studies in people are lacking.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1003
Campyloneurum angustifolium (en verwante varens, o.a. Polypodium)
A narrow-leaved fern that grows on trees and rocks. The rhizome has been traded as a medicine for centuries; good research on its effect in people is lacking.
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.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1002
Escallonia resinosa (en verwante soorten, o.a. E. micrantha)
A shrub or tree of 2 to 10 metres with reddish, papery bark and small, finely toothed leaves full of resin and essential oil. Almost nothing has been studied about its effect in people.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 890
Baccharis latifolia (en verwante soorten, o.a. B. pentlandii)
A fast-growing, densely branched shrub with glossy, sticky leaves. Little is known from research about its effect in people.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 183
Erythroxylum coca
The leaf contains a small amount of cocaine and other alkaloids. Chewing it or drinking it as tea is used in the Andes against hunger, fatigue and altitude sickness; evidence for the latter is limited. Cocaine, the first local anaesthetic and today mainly an addictive drug, was isolated from the leaf.
South America · Herb · № 913
Gentianella bicolor
A small, very bitter herb of the gentian family, related to hercampuri. Gentians contain bitter compounds that stimulate digestion. Clinical studies are lacking.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1006
Perezia multiflora (en verwante soorten)
A low, prickly herb with toothed leaves and yellow or white flower heads. Contains phenols, flavonoids and saponins; in the laboratory the leaf inhibits some bacteria. Research in people is limited.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 881
Gentianella alborosea (en G. nitida)
A small, very bitter herb of the gentian family. It is sold for liver, gallbladder and cholesterol complaints and for weight loss; good research is lacking.
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.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 31
Cinchona spp. (o.a. C. officinalis, C. pubescens)
The bark contains quinine and other alkaloids. Quinine became an important antimalarial, but using the bark yourself is unsafe and is not malaria treatment.
CautionSouth America · Food · № 32
Lepidium meyenii
A root crop eaten as food. Claims about fertility and energy are unproven.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 863
Caltha sagittata
A low plant of the buttercup family with arrow-shaped leaves and cream-white flowers. Related to the marsh marigold; its compounds and effects have not been studied.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 816
Minthostachys mollis
A mint-like plant used in the Andes for stomach complaints and wind.
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.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 884
Sambucus peruviana
A tree with white flower umbels and dark berries, related to the European elder. Flowers and leaves are considered sweat-inducing and anti-inflammatory.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 898
Myroxylon balsamum (var. pereirae)
A large tree whose resin, the balsam, smells of vanilla and cinnamon. The balsam contains cinnamic acid, benzyl benzoate and vanillin, among other compounds, and is used in perfume, food and ointments for skin and wounds.
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.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1014
Polylepis (o.a. P. besseri en P. tarapacana)
Gnarled trees and shrubs of the rose family with reddish-brown bark that peels in thin layers and protects against the cold. Nothing has been studied about its effect in people.
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.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1012
Colletia spinosissima
A thorny shrub with green thorns set crosswise and hardly any leaves. It lives together with nitrogen-fixing Frankia bacteria. The bark contains saponins; little has been studied about its effect in people.
CautionSouth America · Food · № 1011
Lupinus mutabilis
A lupin with white to purple flowers and protein-rich, oily beans. The raw beans are bitter from lupin alkaloids, which are removed by days of soaking and rinsing.
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Food · № 157
Solanum lycopersicum
A fruit-vegetable with vitamin C and lycopene. Research on lycopene and heart or prostate health is mostly observational and not conclusive.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 878
Smallanthus sonchifolius
A plant of the daisy family with sweet, crunchy tubers full of inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides, which the body barely absorbs. The leaf has been studied for diabetes; evidence in humans is lacking.
CautionSouth America · Food · № 262
Solanum tuberosum
A starchy tuber and one of the most important food crops in the world. In folk use raw slices or grated potato are laid on burns, swollen eyes and for headaches; this has not been studied.
CautionAsia · Food · № 272
Prunus armeniaca
Traditionally attributed effects: cough-suppressing, astringent, antibacterial, pain-relieving, diuretic, anti-inflammatory; wild cherry suppresses cough.
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Food · № 818
Bixa orellana
The red seeds are used as a colouring and spice; traditionally also as a remedy.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 63
Artemisia absinthium
One of the most bitter herbs; traditionally used to stimulate appetite and digestion and against intestinal worms. Clinical evidence is limited.
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 · Food · № 934
Castanea dentata
Once one of the largest trees of the eastern forests, with sweet, edible nuts. Related to the sweet chestnut.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 593
Lysichiton americanus
Traditionally attributed effects: strengthens the nerves, stimulating, antispasmodic, induces sweating, expectorant; opens the lungs and reduces cough and bronchial spasms (acute asthma), ointment against ringworm, relieves muscle and joint pain.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 228
Pimpinella anisum
Traditionally attributed effects: gives a natural lip-plumping effect.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 866
Araucaria araucana
An ancient conifer that lives for more than a thousand years. The large, starchy seeds are a nourishing food; the resin was used on wounds.
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.