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 · № 988
Aplectrum hyemale
An orchid with a single leaf, green with silvery-white stripes, that appears in late autumn and withers in spring. Underground lie two or more corms joined together, an old one and a new one. The crushed corms yield a sticky mucilage.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 805
Prunus africana
A bark extract is used in Europe for benign prostate enlargement; the evidence is limited.
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.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 761
Dendrobium nobile (en verwante soorten)
Traditionally attributed effects: nourishes the yin of lung and stomach, replenishes body fluids and cools heat from deficiency.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 76
Gentiana lutea
The root is one of the most bitter substances known and has long been used to stimulate appetite and digestion. Studies are small.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 87
Primula veris
The root contains saponins and is traditionally used to loosen phlegm in coughs; the flowers as a calming tea. There is some research on combination cough preparations.
CautionOceania · Herb · № 845
Phormium tenax
The gel-like sap from the leaf base is traditionally applied to wounds, burns, ulcers and grazes; the root was regarded as laxative and worm-expelling. Scientific evidence is limited.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 808
Hoodia gordonii
A succulent whose stem the San chewed against hunger and thirst. Not proven as a slimming aid.
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 · Herb · № 346
Pterocarpus santalinus
Traditionally attributed effects: antipyretic, fever-reducing, aphrodisiac, astringent, bitter, cooling, induces sweating, expels worms; for chronic dysentery, bleeding haemorrhoids, bile complaints, skin diseases.
CautionAsia · Mineral · № 794
Stalactitum (calciumcarbonaat)
Traditionally attributed effects: makes lung energy descend in asthma and chronic bronchitis and promotes milk flow.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 947
Epigaea repens
A creeping, evergreen dwarf shrub of the heath family with fragrant pink to white flowers in early spring. Contains arbutin.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 938
Trillium spp. (o.a. Trillium erectum en T. grandiflorum)
Spring flowers with three leaves, three sepals and three petals. The rhizome contains saponins. Clinical research is lacking.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1013
Nototriche (o.a. N. mandoniana en N. porphyrantha)
A small, cushion-forming mallow that grows flat against the ground, with a thick taproot. Mallows contain soothing mucilage; these species themselves have hardly been studied.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 114
Arnica montana
Used externally for bruises and muscle aches. Studies give mixed results. Homeopathic arnica is so diluted that it contains no active substance.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 586
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.
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.