An ancient, jointed plant that looks like a little green bottle brush, horsetail is so rich in silica that people once used it to scrub pots and sand canoes. Here's what tradition and research say about it, and why it should be used carefully.
The silver-green leaves of the olive tree, one of the oldest cultivated trees on earth, have been brewed into a bitter tea around the Mediterranean for centuries. Here's what tradition and research say about them, and who should be careful.
A thorny vine from the Amazon rainforest, named for the curved hooks on its stems, that Peruvian peoples have boiled into a bitter bark tea for generations. Here's what tradition and research say about it, and who should be careful.
Berberine is the bright-yellow compound behind some of the oldest bitter remedies in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, from Indian barberry to Chinese goldthread. Today it is one of the most-studied plant compounds for metabolic health, and one of the most interaction-prone, so it is worth reading the safety section first.
A small Florida palm whose dark berries were food for the Seminole and Ais peoples and became the best-known men's herb in Europe and North America. Here's what tradition and research say about it, and who should be careful.
Reishi is the glossy "mushroom of immortality" of Chinese and Japanese tradition, prized for over 2,000 years as a calming, strengthening tonic. Here's what traditional medicine uses it for, what the research says so far, and who should be careful with it.
Nettle stings on the trail, but it has been a spring food, a joint remedy, a fibre plant and a "strengthening and cleansing" tea for peoples across Europe, North Africa and North America. Here's how tradition uses the leaf and the root, what the research shows for joints, the prostate and urination, and who should skip it.
Valerian has been the classic "sleep root" since the days of Hippocrates and Galen, and it's still one of the most-used herbs for restless nights and nervous tension. Here's how tradition uses it, what the research on sleep really shows, why it can take a few weeks to work, and who should skip it.
Peppermint has settled stomachs and freshened breath since ancient Egypt, and today it's one of the few herbs with solid research behind it, especially for an irritable gut. Here's how tradition uses the leaf and the oil, what the studies show, and who should skip it.
For more than two thousand years, lemon balm has been the herb people reach for to “gladden the heart” and calm a racing mind. Here's how tradition uses it for nerves, sleep, digestion and cold sores, what the research shows, and why people with thyroid conditions should check first.
