Remedy and risk share a stem
Plants are full of active compounds. The same chemistry that soothes a sore throat can, in the wrong dose or the wrong person, stress the liver or thin the blood.
About Index of Herbs
A field guide to
Mother Earth’s natural remedies
Index of Herbs is a free, independent reference to medicinal plants—110 herbs and growing. Every herb gets the same careful treatment: where it comes from, how it works, how people use it, and who should leave it alone.
Curiosity, with the facts attached
People have reached for plants to calm a stomach, ease a cough, or settle into sleep for as long as there have been people. That knowledge is worth exploring. It is also easy to oversell, and most of what you find online is trying to sell you something.
Index of Herbs is here for the exploring. Each entry is a monograph: part field guide, part plain-language research summary. We tell the story of the plant, record how cultures have used it, size up what modern studies actually show, and put the safety information right beside the folklore. We do not sell herbs, supplements, or affiliate links.
Ways to explore
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01
Search by concern
Type “sleep,” “digestion,” or “immunity” to see which herbs people reach for—and how strong the evidence behind each one really is.
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02
Wander the living index
The homepage arranges every herb in a spiral, using the golden angle sunflowers use to pack their seeds. Filter by letter, hover to preview, click to read.
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03
Open the medicine cabinet
Every published herb on one shelf, from aloe vera to yohimbe, for when you already know the name you are looking for.
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04
Read the journal
Practical articles on herbal teas, essential oils at home, natural approaches to everyday complaints, and the traditions behind them.
Inside every monograph
The same structure on every page, so you can compare one plant with the next.
Every herb page opens with a few key points for a quick answer, then goes deeper. Jump straight to the section you need from the table of contents.
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The plant
What it looks like, where it grows, and which part is actually used.
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Lineage
Who used it first, how its reputation traveled, and which famous stories hold up.
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Chemistry
The active compounds and what they appear to do in the body.
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In practice
Traditional uses beside modern research, with the strength of the evidence spelled out.
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The apothecary
Teas, tinctures, capsules, oils, and why the form you choose matters.
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Caution
Side effects, who should avoid it, and the medicines it does not mix with.
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Questions
Straight answers to the things people most often ask about the herb.
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Sources
The regulators, national libraries, and studies behind the claims on the page.
Why plants
Medicinal plants are one of humanity’s oldest laboratories.
Willow bark pointed chemists toward aspirin, foxglove toward heart medicines, and cinchona bark toward quinine. Many people around the world still rely on plants for everyday care. That lineage is real and worth celebrating—but a plant that inspired a drug is not the same thing as the drug, and “natural” is not a safety rating.
Your kitchen is a starting point
Garlic in a pan, sage in butter, chamomile after dinner. Culinary amounts are a different thing from concentrated extracts and capsules, and we keep them separate.
Tradition is knowledge
Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, European herbals, and Indigenous practice are centuries of careful observation. We record them with respect, alongside what modern research has found.
How we write
Plant part first
Aloe gel is not aloe latex. Eucalyptus leaf tea is not eucalyptus oil. Turmeric in a curry is not a gram of curcumin in a capsule. We name the plant part and the form, because that is often the difference between helpful and harmful.
Evidence, honestly sized
We cite regulators, national libraries, and clinical trials when they exist. When a study is small, we say so. When a well-loved story turns out to be legend, we say that too.
Safety on the same page
Every monograph includes a “Before you use” section covering side effects, who should avoid the herb, and drug interactions—in the article itself, where you will actually read it. Safety is part of the story, not a footnote.
Want the details? Our editorial policy walks through how Team IOH finds and verifies every source, how we rate the evidence, and what our editor checks before a page is published. Read our editorial policy.
A starting point, not a prescription
Index of Herbs is educational. It is not a diagnosis, a dose, or a substitute for a clinician who knows your health and your medicines. If you are pregnant, giving a plant to a child, taking prescription drugs, or managing a health condition, use a monograph to prepare your questions—then talk with a licensed professional.
Spotted an error, or want to suggest a plant we have not covered yet? Get in touch. Index of Herbs is operated by Stackifide in Florida.
Behind the index
Michael Cozart
Founder & Editor
Michael is a web engineer by trade, with a career spent designing and building websites and web applications. For more than 20 years he has also followed a steady personal interest in natural healing, herbs, and supplements—reading the old herbals, the newer research, and the fine print on the bottle.
Index of Herbs is where those two paths meet: the structure and care of good engineering, applied to a subject that deserves better than marketing copy. Michael oversees the monographs and journal, with an eye on clear sources and safety first. As editor, he approves every page and every evidence rating before it is published, as set out in our editorial policy.
Michael is not a doctor or a licensed herbalist, which is exactly why every monograph cites its sources and nothing here should be taken as medical advice.
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