Herbs

If you’ve come across the henbane plant — maybe in a history book, maybe growing in a ditch near your house — the short version is this: it’s one of …

The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder already knew about the many health benefits of hops because he christened the plant Lupulus. After all, it overgrows the gardens where it grows …

The devil’s trumpet plant was unknown in Europe during ancient times and the Middle Ages until it was brought to Spain from Mexico in the late 16th century. Because of …

Flakes prepared from the oat plant by pressing oats into ground grain are an integral food popular in Central and Northern Europe. Moreover, oats have stimulating effects on the nervous …

The dragon’s blood plant is often used as a common name for Herb Robert, a strongly scented wild geranium known botanically as Geranium robertianum. It has a long history in …

The fruits of the witch hazel plant are woody capsules similar to hazelnuts, and when ripe, they explode noisily. Because of this, North American Indians believed that this tree was …

Hazelnuts are a nutrient-dense tree nut that can add vitamin E, mostly unsaturated fat, fiber, plant protein, and minerals to your diet. The most defensible hazelnut benefits come from eating …

Italian cypress has a long medicinal reputation, especially for veins, hemorrhoids, coughs, and astringent herbal preparations. But the honest answer is more modest: many Italian cypress health benefits come from …

The cornflower plant covers the golden prairies from late spring onwards with its elegant blue flowers. For hundreds of years, the seeds of crops have been mixed with cornflower seeds …

If you’ve ever come across barberry in a supplement aisle or an herbal tea blend, there’s a good chance you’ve also heard of berberine without realizing they’re connected. Berberine is …