Herb Library

Amsonia tomentosa

Native American medicinal plant used as snake bite remedy. Documented among Zuni.

Eragrostis eriopoda

Aboriginal food plant whose seeds were ground into flour for damper (bush bread). Used nutritionally as a gluten-free grain source by desert Aboriginal communities.

Arctostaphylos tomentosa

Native American medicinal plant used as antihemorrhagic, dietary aid, gastrointestinal aid. Documented among Costanoan (Olhonean), Miwok.

Astragalus mollissimus

Native American medicinal plant used as poison. Documented among Mahuna.

Plantago patagonica

Native American medicinal plant used as psychological aid, analgesic, antidiarrheal, gastrointestinal aid, laxative, pediatric aid. Documented among Hopi, Keres, Western, Navajo.

Astragalus purshii

Native American medicinal plant used as dermatological aid, disinfectant, hunting medicine. Documented among Thompson.

Chaptalia tomentosa

Native American medicinal plant used as antirheumatic (external), urinary aid. Documented among Seminole.

Wyethia mollis

Native American medicinal plant used as antirheumatic (external), dermatological aid, blood medicine, cathartic, cold remedy, febrifuge. Documented among Klamath, Paiute, Shoshoni.

Tripterocalyx carnea

Native American medicinal plant used as pediatric aid, sedative, other, witchcraft medicine, diaphoretic, snake bite remedy. Documented among Hopi, Navajo, Ramah, Zuni.

Sedum stenopetalum

Native American medicinal plant used as venereal aid. Documented among Okanagan-Colville.

Stachys betonicifolia

A medicinal plant (Stachys betonicifolia) from the Lamiaceae family used in traditional medicine.

Baccharis wrightii

Native American medicinal plant used as ceremonial medicine, emetic, venereal aid. Documented among Navajo, Ramah.

Aloysia wrightii

Native American medicinal plant used as analgesic, antirheumatic (internal), psychological aid, venereal aid. Documented among Havasupai, Walapai.

Cordylanthus wrightii

Native American medicinal plant used as venereal aid, ceremonial medicine, gynecological aid, analgesic. Documented among Navajo, Navajo, Kayenta, Navajo, Ramah.

Pseudognaphalium canescens

Native American medicinal plant used as cold remedy, dermatological aid. Documented among Keres, Western.

Lotus wrightii

Native American medicinal plant used as analgesic, cathartic, disinfectant, gastrointestinal aid, panacea, witchcraft medicine. Documented among Navajo, Ramah, Zuni.

Thelypodium wrightii

Native American medicinal plant used as dermatological aid. Documented among Navajo.

Lomatium ambiguum

Native American medicinal plant used as cold remedy, throat aid. Documented among Okanagan-Colville.

Lupinus wyethii

Native American medicinal plant used as eye medicine. Documented among Okanagan-Colville.

Castilleja linariifolia

Native American medicinal plant used as contraceptive, gynecological aid, analgesic, gastrointestinal aid, blood medicine, cathartic. Documented among Hopi, Navajo, Ramah, Shoshoni.

Xanthosoma sagittifolium

Caribbean and West African food plant with medicinal leaf preparations. Heated leaf applied as poultice for boils and abscesses in Caribbean folk medicine. Rhizome (corm) eaten as staple food after cooking. Contains calcium oxalate — must be cooked.

Pinguicula lutea

Native American medicinal plant used as analgesic, gastrointestinal aid. Documented among Seminole.

Holocarpha virgata

Native American medicinal plant used as febrifuge, misc. disease remedy. Documented among Miwok.

Agastache nepetoides

Native American medicinal plant used as dermatological aid. Documented among Iroquois.

Polygala rugelii

Native American medicinal plant used as antirheumatic (external), blood medicine, heart medicine, respiratory aid, snake bite remedy. Documented among Seminole.

Penstemon confertus

Native American medicinal plant used as cathartic, dermatological aid, gastrointestinal aid. Documented among Thompson.

Xanthorhiza simplicissima

Traditional medicinal plant used for ache(stomach), cold, dyspepsia, jaundice, medicine, parturition, stomach, stomatitis, and other conditions. Known from ethnobotanical records across multiple cultures.

Cirsium ochrocentrum

Native American medicinal plant used as burn dressing, dermatological aid, contraceptive, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic. Documented among Kiowa, Zuni.

Draba incerta

Native American medicinal plant used as abortifacient, nose medicine. Documented among Blackfoot.

Cirsium horridulum

Native American medicinal plant used as dermatological aid, expectorant, throat aid. Documented among Houma.

Ranunculus flabellaris

Native American medicinal plant used as cold remedy, respiratory aid. Documented among Meskwaki.

Sauvagesia erecta

Traditional medicinal plant used for tumor.

Eriodictyon californicum

A California/Southwest herb used by indigenous peoples for respiratory support, asthma, and as a pleasant-tasting carrier for bitter medicines.

Tolmiea menziesii

Native American medicinal plant used as dermatological aid. Documented among Cowlitz.

Origanum syriacum

A medicinal plant (Origanum syriacum) from the Lamiaceae family used in traditional medicine.

Zaleya pentandra

Sahelian herb used in Hausa (Nigerian) and Sudanese traditional medicine for intestinal worms, cough, and wound healing. Whole plant decoction for stomach pain. Contains triterpenoid saponins. Used in ethnoveterinary medicine for livestock.

Zanthoxylum chalybeum

East African tree used by Maasai and other pastoralist communities for malaria, cough, and toothache. Bark chewed for dental pain (numbing effect from alkylamides). Contains pellitorine and chelerythrine. Important Maasai traditional medicine.

Ziziphus mauritiana

Pan-tropical jujube relative used in Ayurveda, Unani, and African medicine. Bark decoction for diarrhea and wounds. Leaf paste for boils and abscesses. Root for fever. Different species from Chinese jujube (Z. jujuba). Fruit is popular snack across tropics.

Zornia latifolia

Brazilian herb called 'maconha brava' (wild marijuana) though unrelated to cannabis. Used in Brazilian folk medicine for urinary infections, kidney stones, and bronchitis. Contains zornoside flavonoids. Mild sedative properties reported.