The Herbal Library

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Browse every herb in the database by name, category, or the body system it's traditionally associated with.

All categories Aromatic Culinary Medicinal

Results

18 herbs

No. 001Medicinal

Aloe

Aloe vera

A succulent whose leaf gel is used on burns and skin conditions. Gel on the skin may speed burn healing; aloe taken by mouth carries real risks.

No. 002Medicinal

Andrographis

Andrographis paniculata

A bitter herb used across Asia for infections and fevers, and traditionally for skin inflammation and wounds. It has mainly been studied for colds and flu.

No. 003Medicinal

Calendula

Calendula officinalis

The pot marigold, used in creams and ointments to soothe the skin. It is recognized in Europe for minor skin inflammation such as sunburn and to help minor wounds heal.

No. 004Medicinal

Chickweed

Stellaria media

A wild weed found worldwide, eaten as a leafy green and traditionally used for skin problems such as burns, cuts and scratches. It hasn't been studied in people.

No. 005Medicinal

Cleavers

Galium aparine

A sticky, fast-growing plant traditionally used to increase urination and relieve bloating, and for swollen glands, fever and wounds. In the lab, an extract helped skin cells heal a scratch.

No. 006Medicinal

Common Garden Moss

Brachythecium rutabulum

Rough-stalked feather-moss, a common lawn and garden moss probably used in 17th- and 18th-century Europe for dressing wounds and stopping bleeding.

No. 007Medicinal

Goldenseal

Hydrastis canadensis

A North American plant with a bright yellow root, used by Native Americans on wounds and for skin and eye conditions. There isn't enough research to know whether it helps any health condition.

No. 008Medicinal

A plant recognized in Europe as a traditional medicine for minor urinary complaints and, as a wash or dressing, for superficial wounds. One small trial found a horsetail ointment helped episiotomy wounds heal.

No. 009Medicinal

Jack in the Bush

Chromolaena odorata

One of Jamaica's most popular bush teas for colds and flu, also used in Africa and Asia for fever, wounds and diabetes. Research so far is in the lab and in animals.

No. 010Medicinal

Marigold

Tagetes erecta

The orange-flowered Mexican marigold, or cempasúchil, used in folk medicine from Mexico to India for fevers, colds, stomach upsets and skin sores. It's a different plant from calendula (pot marigold).

No. 011Medicinal

Mugwort

Artemisia vulgaris

A common plant called the "mother of herbs" in the Middle Ages, when it was used on wounds. It is also used in Chinese moxibustion. Mugwort is a major cause of pollen allergy and can cause skin allergies.

No. 012Medicinal

Nettle

Urtica dioica

A stinging plant eaten as a spring vegetable and traditionally used for joint pain and urinary complaints.

No. 013Medicinal

Pepper Elder

Piper amalago

A plant in the pepper family whose leaves are made into a Jamaican bush tea for colds and flu. Research so far is mostly in rats.

No. 014Medicinal

Shame O' Lady

Mimosa pudica

The sensitive plant, whose leaves fold up when touched. TRAMIL, the Caribbean traditional-medicine network, recommends it as a tea for period cramps.

No. 015Medicinal

Snakeroot

Ageratina pichinchensis

A plant native to Mexico, known there as axihuitl, long used in traditional Mexican medicine for skin problems and wounds. Small trials in Mexico have tested extracts for fungal skin and nail infections and leg ulcers.

No. 016Medicinal

Sphagnum Moss

Sphagnum spp.

Peat moss, a very absorbent bog moss used in Europe for centuries as a wound dressing and as nappies and bedding for babies.

No. 017Medicinal

Vervain

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis

Called vervain in Jamaica and vervine in Antigua and Trinidad, a weedy plant whose leaves make a "cooling" tea used for the stomach, colds and coughs, and to clean wounds.

No. 018Medicinal

Yarrow

Achillea millefolium

An herb recognised in Europe as a traditional remedy for loss of appetite, mild digestive problems, period cramps and small wounds.