Aloe vera is a popular houseplant with medicinal potential. There are nearly five hundred species of aloe, a type of plant that originated in southern Africa, near the Cape of Good Hope. The use of aloe goes back in history. There are pictures of aloe plants on some Egyptian temples. The Greek physician Dioscorides wrote […]

Arnica montana is a perennial flowering plant native to southern Russia and other mountainous areas in Europe. In Germany, A. montana is a protected species, so the pharmacopoeia there includes the very similar species A. chamissonis. (French and Swiss pharmacopoeias do not permit this substitution.) Vernacular names include leopard’s bane and mountain tobacco.  There are also […]

“Bilberry” sounds a lot like “blueberry,” and for good reason. The bilberry is a European blueberry. American blueberries are Vaccinium corymbosum. Huckleberries and whortleberries are also closely related. Although blueberries in the United States are noted primarily for their excellent contributions to pies and jam, in Europe the dried fruit has long been considered an […]

This plant, native to North American forests, has a number of popular names: bugbane, black snakeroot, rattleroot, and squaw root. It sends up graceful tall spires of white flowers; the black in its common name refers to the root or rhizome, as does cohosh, Algonquian for “rough.” Native Americans prized black cohosh and used it […]

Frankincense, like myrrh, is featured in the Bible story about the three wise men visiting the infant Jesus. Like myrrh, frankincense is a resin from a tree in the family Burseraceae. (Guggul is another resin from Boswellia carteri, a tree in that family.) Frankincense comes from Boswellia sacra, a tree that grows in Somalia and […]

Cascara sagrada, Spanish for “sacred bark,” comes from the American buckthorn tree (Rhamnus purshiana) native to the western coast of North America, from California to British Columbia, and as far inland as Montana. The Spanish priests of California may have learned about it from the Indians. Its primary use has been as a laxative. In […]

Cat’s claw, or uña de gato as it is also called, has piqued many people’s interest lately, first because it comes from remote and exotic rain forests, and second, because it is believed to act on the immune system. Both species referred to as cat’s claw are climbing woody vines (lianas) in the Amazon forest. […]

The Capsicum genus originated in the New World but has been adopted into cuisines around the globe. It contains as many as five species, with an untold number of variants, giving rise not only to the familiar green bell pepper, but also to paprika and a wide range of “hot peppers.” The flavors of these […]

Two different plants carry the common name chamomile. One of them, M. chamomilla, is sometimes referred to as Hungarian, German, or genuine chamomile to distinguish it from C. nobile, Roman or English chamomile. The older terminology for C. nobile is Anthemis nobilis. These very popular herbs are used almost interchangeably. Their chemistry is somewhat different, […]

Cranberries are a traditional part of the Thanksgiving feast in America, where V. macrocarpon is part of the native flora. Recent interest in cranberries, however, goes beyond sauce or relish. A traditional women’s belief (or old wives’ tale) that cranberry juice can be beneficial for urinary tract infections was discounted by doctors until a study […]

The term “dong quai” (a Chinese name that is sometimes transliterated tang-kuei or dang-gui) refers to a plant known either as A. polymorpha var. sinensis or simply as A. sinensis. As the name suggests, this member of the celery family comes out of the traditional Chinese pharmacopoeia. In China, it is even more widely used […]

Echinacea is the name of a genus of native North American plants with reddish or purplish flowers. There are nine species, but only three of them (E. angustifolia, E. pallida, E. purpurea) are used as botanical medicines. Gardeners may recognize echinacea as the purple coneflower. Echinacea was used traditionally by many Native American tribes to […]

Sambucus canadensis, the American elderberry, is a large shrub native to much of North America. It bears white flowers early in the summer and dark, almost black, berries in the late summer. Both the flowers and the berries have been used as food and for making wine. According to James Duke, “Elder Blow [flower] wine […]

The evening primrose is native to North America, where it grows like a weed. Not really a primrose, it is sometimes called “sun drop.” The large yellow flower opens late in the day and lasts only one evening, then produces lots of small seeds. Presumably, these seeds were carried to Europe early in the history […]

This member of the celery family is a well-known herb native to southern Europe and western Asia, but it was known in ancient China (as xiao hui xiang) as well as in India, Egypt, and Greece. In the Middle Ages it was prized as a vegetable and indeed is appreciated for its flavor today. Colonists […]

Feverfew was used by Greek physicians to treat “melancholy,” which may have included headaches as well as depression. The English used it into the seventeeth century for symptoms that might translate today into vertigo, depression, and headache, as well as for lowering fever. It faded from popularity after that, and during the eighteenth and nineteenth […]

Garlic is valued in many parts of the world for its pungent aroma and flavor. It is possible that garlic’s biological activity and popularity in Mediterranean cuisines contribute to the healthful effects of the “Mediterranean diet.” Most investigations of garlic’s health benefits have considered its medicinal rather than culinary uses, however. Medicinal use of garlic […]

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a popular seasoning for foods in many different cuisines. In China and Southeast Asia where it probably originated, it has also been put to a range of medicinal purposes. It is considered good for the digestion and beneficial against congestion. One of our favorite home remedies for colds is a cup […]

Ginkgo biloba is one of the most popular botanical medicines in both Europe and America, but Chinese healers take the prize. They have been using this ancient tree for thousands of years to treat asthma and cold injury to fingers and toes, as well as to aid memory. The roasted seeds were traditionally used in […]

Ginseng has been used for more than two millennia in China, where the earliest written description of its use appeared in a medical book written during the Han dynasty, before a.d. 100. At that time, the expert recommended it for “repairing the five viscera, quietening the spirit, curbing the emotion, stopping agitation, removing noxious influence, brightening […]

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) is a perennial plant that grows wild in wooded areas of North America, from New England to the southern Appalachians, and west to Arkansas and Minnesota. The Cherokee and the Iroquois had many medicinal uses for goldenseal. Settlers learned some of these traditions, but surprisingly little research has been conducted on the plant […]

This Asian species is reputed to bring long life to the user. According to the Sinhalese proverb: “Two leaves a day will keep old age away.” As the story goes, people in Sri Lanka noticed that elephants, animals known for their longevity, included Centella leaves in their diet. Extrapolation suggested that this creeping herb of […]

Seeds of the fruit of the vine, once discarded as waste after the juice was pressed out for wine, have become the source of a popular dietary supplement. Grapes were first cultivated near the Caspian Sea, and their use as food and drink had spread throughout the Mediterranean world before the Bible was written. The […]

Until a few years ago, tea might have seemed more appropriately addressed in a cookbook than in a book about herbs. This beverage is probably the most frequently consumed in the world after plain water. To be sure, it has the requisite ancient history, with its use going back more than three thousand years in […]

Guggul (Goo-gall) is a resin from a tree native to India. This resin has long been used in Ayurvedic medicine, which combined it with other plant products to cleanse and rejuvenate the body, especially the blood vessels and the joints. It was also used for sore throats and digestive complaints. In Chinese medicine, guggul is […]