Botanical Name: Scrophularia nodosa. Other Common Names: Knotted figwort, woodland figwort, rosenoble, throatwort, carpenters square, kernelwort, scrophula plant, escrophularia (Spanish), knoldbrunro (Danish), Knotige Braunwurz (German), scrophulaire noueuse (French). Habitat: Common figwort grows wild in Europe and Western Asia. It is sometimes used as an ornamental plant in gardens. Description: Common figwort is a perennial herb […]
Medicinal Herb Profiles
Coltsfoot – Health Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Tussilago farfara. Other Common Names: Coughwort, bull’s foot, assfoot, farfara, horsehoof, foalswort, foal’s foot. Habitat: Coltsfoot can grow in damp or dry conditions and grows well in alkaline clay soil. It is usually found in places such as wastelands, on the side of the road or railway, hedge banks etc. It is native […]
Coleus Forskohlii – Health Benefits and Potential Side Effects
Botanical Name: Plectranthus barbatus, Coleus barbatus. Other Common Names: Coleous, makandi, Indian coleus, false boldo. Habitat: Coleus is a hardy plant, growing on the dry slopes of the lower Himalayas and the plains in Uttar Pradesh, Northern India. However, coleus has long been cultivated in India, Thailand and also in other parts of South East […]
Cinnamon – Side Effects and Benefits
Botanical Name of Cinnamon: Cinnamomum verum. Other Common Names: Cassia, Ceylon cinnamon, kayu manis, canela, vayana. Habitat: It requires hot and humid tropical weather and though native to South India and Sri Lanka, it is widely grown in countries such as China, Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia. Plant Description: Cinnamon is an evergreen tree which attains the […]
Cinchona Bark Uses and Benefits
Scientific Name: Cinchona spp. (C. officinalis, C. ledgeriana, C. succirubra). Linnaeus named this genus of tree species after the Countess of Chinchon, according to legend, promoted the use of the medicinal bark after she herself was successfully treated for malaria in the 1630s. The scientific name was later modified from Chinchona to Cinchona, which is […]
Chinese Skullcap – Health Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Scutellaria baicalensis. Other Common Names: Huang qin, baikal, baical skullcap root, scute, scutellaria. Habitat: Chinese skullcap is native to eastern Asia. It thrives on sunny, grassy slopes in higher elevations. The plant grows well in sandy, rocky soils and needs full sun. It prefers dry soils and does well in cultivated planting beds. […]
Chinese Rhubarb Health Benefits
Botanical Name: Rheum officinale, R. palmatum and R. tangutucum. All three species are known by the common English name Chinese rhubarb. Garden rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum), the familiar red-stalked rhubarb used in cooking in Europe and North America, is a different species and may not have the same medicinal properties. Note: in botany, the species names […]
Chinese Knotweed (Fo-Ti) – Health Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Polygonum multiflorum. The generic name “Polygonum” is probably derived from two Greek words – “poly” means “many” and “gonu” means “knee” in reference to the swollen articulated nodes of the stem. The species name “multiflorum” may be derived from the Greek words – “multi” means “multiple” and “florum” means “flowers” in reference to […]
Chickweed – Health Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Stellaria media. Other Common Names Adder’s mouth Chick wittles Satinflower Sercedili Skirt buttons Star chickweed Starweed Tongue grass Vogelmuur White bird’s wye Winterweed. Habitat Chickweed is native to Europe and Asia and is now found throughout the world. It is a common hardy plant that easily grows in cropland and fallow fields, lawns […]
Chaste Tree Berry – Health Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Vitex agnus-castus. Other Common Names: Chaste Tree, Abraham’s balm, monk’s pepper, chaste lamb-tree, safe tree, Indian-spice, wild pepper, chasteberry, vitex, agnus-castus, sauzgatillo (Spanish), gattilier agneau-chaste (French), kyskhetsträd (Swedish), Keuschbaum (German), munkapipar (Icelandic). Habitat: The chaste tree is native to the Mediterranean region but is regularly cultivated in warm, temperate and sub-tropical climates. It […]