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 · № 1001
Platanus occidentalis
One of the largest broadleaf trees of eastern America, with a trunk that peels in patches of white, green and brown. The bark contains tannins and betulinic acid. It is a parent of the London plane of European streets.
CautionEurope · Food · № 101
Vaccinium myrtillus en V. vitis-idaea
Rich in anthocyanins. Dried berries are an old remedy for diarrhoea. NCCIH reports there is not enough evidence for eye, blood-vessel or other claims.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 978
Umbellularia californica
An evergreen tree of the laurel family with strongly scented leaves. The leaf contains umbellulone, which causes headache when inhaled and is poisonous in large amounts.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 987
Euonymus americanus
A shrub of the spindle family, up to two metres tall. In autumn the warty pink fruits burst open to show seeds in a bright red aril. Seeds and fruits are strongly purgative, as in other spindles, and the genus is considered poisonous.
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Food · № 266
Zea mays
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic, heals the urinary tract lining, tonic, soothing.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 154
Passiflora incarnata
Used for anxiety and sleep problems. NCCIH notes some indications of an effect on anxiety but limited evidence.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 584
Eutrochium purpureum (syn. Eupatorium purpureum)
Traditionally attributed effects: diuretic, strengthens the nerves, astringent, stimulating, antiseptic; dissolves kidney and bladder stones, removes mineral deposits in joints, traditionally to prevent miscarriage and to prepare for childbirth.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 975
Oxalis oregana
A low wood sorrel with large clover-like leaves and white or pink flowers, forming carpets under the trees. The leaf tastes sour from oxalic acid.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 976
Hypericum scouleri (syn. H. formosum var. scouleri)
A native St John's wort with yellow, black-dotted flowers, related to common St John's wort. Like it, it contains hypericin and hyperforin.
CautionAfrica · Food · № 356
Sesamum indicum
Traditionally attributed effects: soothing, softens the skin, diuretic, promotes menstruation and milk flow, laxative; leaves for respiratory complaints, diarrhoea and dysentery in children, bladder catarrh; seeds for bleeding haemorrhoids, absent or painful menstruation.
CautionNorth America · Food · № 937
Fragaria virginiana
A wild strawberry with small, very tasty fruits. Its cross with the Chilean strawberry gave rise to the garden strawberry in eighteenth-century Europe.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 156
Prunus serotina
The dried bark was long used in cough syrups to calm irritating coughs. Modern clinical evidence is lacking.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 209
Helianthus annuus
Sunflower seeds and oil are rich in vitamin E and linoleic acid. The oil is used for dry skin; claims about scars or skin ageing have not been shown.
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.