Index of Herbs

The living index

Medicinal Herbs,
explore Mother Earth’s natural remedies

Each node is a monograph. The spiral uses the same golden angle plants use to pack seeds—so the index is not a grid, it is a garden you can search.

Try

Interactive map of published herb monographs.

Concern guides

Start with what you want help with

All guides →

Fresh from the field

New in the index

All 65 herbs →

  • Hibiscus

    Hibiscus sabdariffa

    The hibiscus in a cup of tart, ruby-red tea is not the showy garden shrub. It is roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa,...

  • Butterbur

    Petasites hybridus

    Butterbur is a streamside plant of Europe and western Asia with some of the largest leaves of any wild plant i...

  • Saffron

    Crocus sativus

    Saffron is the dried, thread-like red stigmas of a purple autumn crocus, picked by hand, three to a flower. Br...

  • Cranberry

    Vaccinium macrocarpon

    Cranberry is a native North American bog fruit, the tart red berry of a low, trailing evergreen vine, and most...

How to read a monograph

Every herb gets the same careful treatment, so you can compare one plant with the next: where it comes from, how it works, how people use it, and who should leave it alone.

  1. 01

    History

    Who used it, and what the aspirin-from-willow story actually means.

  2. 02

    How it works

    Named constituents without pretending milligrams of bark equal a drug.

  3. 03

    Uses

    Tradition beside the size of the evidence, including empty claims.

  4. 04

    Safety

    Who should not take it, and which medicines do not mix.

The cabinet

Herbal Medicine Cabinet

The everyday staples: the herbs our concern guides recommend most often.

View the full library →
Browse all 65 herbs