Lemon balm is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family and native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia, but now naturalised elsewhere.
Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes, are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plain term tea, is used as a reference to all sorts of herbal teas. Many herbs used in teas/tisanes are also used in herbal medicine and in folk medicine.
Mentha pulegium, commonly (European) pennyroyal, or pennyrile, also called mosquito plant and pudding grass, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Crushed pennyroyal leaves emit a very strong fragrance similar to spearmint. Pennyroyal is a traditional folk remedy, emmenagogue, abortifacient, and culinary herb, but is toxic to the liver and has caused some deaths. European pennyroyal is related to an American species, Hedeoma pulegioides. Though they differ in genera, they share similar chemical properties.
Chamomile or camomile is the common name for several daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae. Two of the species, Matricaria chamomilla and Chamaemelum nobile, are commonly used to make herbal infusions for beverages. There has been limited research as to whether consuming chamomile in foods or beverages is effective in treating medical conditions.
Cymbopogon, also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some species are commonly cultivated as culinary and medicinal herbs because of their scent, resembling that of lemons . The name Cymbopogon derives from the Greek words kymbe and pogon "which mean [that] in most species, the hairy spikelets project from boat-shaped spathes." Lemongrass and its oil are believed to possess therapeutic properties.
Bearberries are three species of dwarf shrubs in the genus Arctostaphylos. Unlike the other species of Arctostaphylos, they are adapted to Arctic and subarctic climates, and have a circumpolar distribution in northern North America, Asia and Europe.
Herbal medicine is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever. There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes includes fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.
Nicholas Culpeper was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer. His book The English Physitian is a source of pharmaceutical and herbal lore of the time, and Astrological Judgement of Diseases from the Decumbiture of the Sick (1655) one of the most detailed works on medical astrology in Early Modern Europe. Culpeper catalogued hundreds of outdoor medicinal herbs. He scolded contemporaries for some of the methods they used in herbal medicine: "This not being pleasing, and less profitable to me, I consulted with my two brothers, Dr. Reason and Dr. Experience, and took a voyage to visit my mother Nature, by whose advice, together with the help of Dr. Diligence, I at last obtained my desire; and, being warned by Mr. Honesty, a stranger in our days, to publish it to the world, I have done it."
Solanum dulcamara is a species of vine in the genus Solanum of the family Solanaceae. Common names include bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, felonwort, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, and woody nightshade.
Glechoma hederacea is an aromatic, perennial, evergreen creeper of the mint family Lamiaceae. It is commonly known as ground-ivy, gill-over-the-ground, creeping charlie, alehoof, tunhoof, catsfoot, field balm, and run-away-robin. It is also sometimes known as creeping jenny, but that name more commonly refers to Lysimachia nummularia. It is used as a salad green in many countries. European settlers carried it around the world, and it has become a well-established introduced and naturalized plant in a wide variety of localities. It is also considered an aggressive invasive weed of woodlands and lawns in some parts of North America. In the absence of any biological control, research conducted by the USDA herbicides are relied upon particularly for woodland ecosystems. The plant's extensive root system makes it difficult to eradicate by hand-pulling.
Citronella oil is an essential oil obtained from the leaves and stems of different species of Cymbopogon (lemongrass). The oil is used extensively as a source of perfumery chemicals such as citronellal, citronellol, and geraniol. These chemicals find extensive use in soap, candles and incense, perfumery, cosmetic, and flavouring industries throughout the world.
Verbena, also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas and Asia; however, Verbena officinalis, the common vervain or common verbena, is the type species and native to Europe.
Euphrasia, or eyebright, is a genus of about 215 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are hemiparasitic on grasses and other plants. Both the common and generic names refer to the plant's use in a lotion for treating eye infections, with Euphrasia literally meaning 'good-cheer'.
Verbena officinalis, the common vervain or common verbena, is a perennial herb native to Europe. It grows up to 70 cm high, with an upright habitus. The lobed leaves are toothed, and the delicate spikes hold clusters of two-lipped mauve flowers.
Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus Artemisia. In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species Artemisia vulgaris, or common mugwort. In East Asia the species Artemisia argyi is often called "Chinese mugwort" in the context of traditional Chinese medicine, Ngai Chou in Cantonese or àicǎo (艾草) for the whole plant in Mandarin, and àiyè (艾叶) for the leaf, which is used specifically in the practice of moxibustion. Artemisia princeps is a mugwort known in Korea as ssuk (쑥) and in Japan as yomogi (ヨモギ). While other species are sometimes referred to by more specific common names, they may be called simply "mugwort" in many contexts.
Cymbopogon citratus, commonly known as West Indian lemon grass or simply lemon grass, is a tropical plant native to South Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia and introduced to many tropical regions.
Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distinguishes herbs from spices. Herbs generally refers to the leafy green or flowering parts of a plant, while spices are usually dried and produced from other parts of the plant, including seeds, bark, roots and fruits.
Carapichea ipecacuanha is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is native to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil. Its common name, ipecacuanha, is derived from the Tupi ipega'kwãi. The plant has been discussed under a variety of synonyms over the years by various botanists. The roots were used to make syrup of ipecac, a powerful emetic, a longtime over-the-counter medicine no longer approved for medical use in the West for lack of evidence of safety and efficacy. An example of emetic compound from the roots is emetine.
Brazilian tea culture has its origins in the infused beverages, or chás, made by the indigenous cultures of the Amazon and the Río de la Plata basins. It has evolved since the Portuguese colonial period to include imported varieties and tea-drinking customs.
