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Herbs & Cultures

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.

All 980 herbs from 43 traditions

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17 results

  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 963

    Blue lettuce

    Lactuca tatarica subsp. pulchella (syn. L. pulchella)

    A wild lettuce with blue flower heads and milky sap that forms large colonies by runners. Effects not studied.

    Lakota medicine
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 956

    Fringed sage

    Artemisia frigida

    A low, silver-grey, strongly scented wormwood shrub. Contains a volatile oil with camphor and cineole and, like other wormwoods, thujone.

    Lakota medicine+1
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 960

    Fringed puccoon

    Lithospermum incisum (syn. L. linearifolium)

    A member of the borage family with yellow trumpet-shaped flowers and a red root, related to Chinese gromwell (zi cao). Effects not studied.

    Lakota medicine
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 958

    Prairie coneflower

    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.

    Lakota medicine
  • Caution

    North 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
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 955

    American licorice

    Glycyrrhiza lepidota

    A legume with long, tough, sweet roots, related to true licorice. The root tastes of licorice; it contains less glycyrrhizin than Glycyrrhiza glabra.

    Lakota medicine
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 929

    Mescal bean

    Dermatophyllum secundiflorum (syn. Sophora secundiflora)

    An evergreen shrub or small tree of the pea family with purple, grape-scented flowers and hard, bright red seeds. The seeds contain cytisine, a poison resembling nicotine. A single seed can be fatal.

    Indigenous healing traditions of North America
  • Caution

    Central America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 820

    Estafiate (white sagebrush)

    Artemisia ludoviciana

    A bitter, aromatic herb used in Mexico for stomach ache and digestive complaints.

    Curanderismo+1
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 327

    Fragrant sumac

    Rhus aromatica

    Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, tonic, antidiabetic, diuretic.

    Indigenous healing traditions of North America+1
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 170

    Gumweed

    Grindelia camporum

    The sticky herb was traditionally used for coughs, asthma and bronchitis, and externally for poison-ivy rashes. Clinical evidence is lacking.

    Indigenous healing traditions of North America+2
  • Caution

    North America · Food · № 962

    Ground plum

    Astragalus crassicarpus

    A low legume with purple-pink flowers and thick, round pods that lie on the ground like small plums. Only the young pods are edible.

    Lakota medicine+1
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 990

    Butterfly weed

    Asclepias tuberosa

    A milkweed with bright orange flower umbels that attract many butterflies, and a thick, tuberous root. For a milkweed it contains few cardiac glycosides, but it does contain steroids that in larger amounts can cause weakness, seizures and eye damage. The root was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia as pleurisy root, an expectorant.

    Cherokee medicine
  • Caution

    Europe · Herb · № 89

    Rose and rose hip

    Rosa spp.

    Rose hips are rich in vitamin C; a hip powder has been studied for osteoarthritis with modest results. Rose water and oil are used in skin care and as fragrance.

    Avicenna's Canon in European universities+6Folklore
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 964

    Seneca snakeroot

    Polygala senega (syn. Senega officinalis)

    A low milkwort with white flower spikes. The root contains saponins that loosen phlegm and promote coughing; it is in the European Pharmacopoeia as a cough remedy.

    Anishinaabe medicine+1
  • Caution

    Central America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 819

    Tobacco

    Nicotiana rustica

    A ceremonial plant of many Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Tobacco is addictive and harmful to health.

    Maya healing knowledge+10
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 961

    Wild bergamot

    Monarda fistulosa

    A mint with lilac flowers and strongly scented leaves, related to Oswego tea. The volatile oil is rich in carvacrol and thymol, which are antiseptic.

    Lakota medicine+1
  • Caution

    North America · Herb · № 957

    Wild four-o'clock

    Mirabilis nyctaginea (syn. Allionia nyctaginea)

    Related to the marvel of Peru (Mirabilis jalapa), with a thick taproot and small pink flowers that open in the afternoon. Taken internally the root is strongly laxative.

    Lakota medicine
Image of Salvia divinorum

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.

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