Botanical Name of Blue Cohosh: Caulophyllum thalictroides (L). Other Common Names Blueberry root, blue ginseng, yellow ginseng, beechdrops, pappoose root, squaw root, caulophylle faux-pigamon (French), cohosh azul (Spanish), Frauenwurzel (German), løveblad (Danish), azurbär (Swedish). Habitat Blue cohosh is a perennial herbaceous plant native to Eastern USA and Canada. It grows in rich, moist soil near […]
Medicinal Herb Profiles
Bletilla – Health Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Bletilla striata. Other Common Names: Hardy orchid, Chinese ground orchid, urn orchid, hyacinth bletilla, Japanorchidee (German), mikadoblomst (Danish), shiran (Japanese), bai ji (Chinese). Habitat: Bletilla grows wild in the southern and eastern parts of China, Japan, Hong Kong and on some Pacific islands. The cultivation of the plant for use in herbal medicine […]
Blessed Thistle – Side Effects and Health Benefits
Botanical Name: Cnicus benedictus L, Centaurea benedicta. Other Common Names: Holy thistle, sacred thistle, St. Benedicts thistle, spotted thistle, blessed cardus, lady’s thistle, cardin, karbenedikt (Swedish), benediktenkraut (German), cardo santo (Spanish), Chardon bénit (French), heilagur þistill (Icelandic). Habitat: This plant is native to the Mediterranean countries and Southeast Asia. Today, it is found both growing […]
Black Walnut – Uses, Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Juglans nigra. Black walnut belongs to a group of deciduous trees in the walnut family (Juglandaceae). Even though it is mostly valued for its dark brown, finely-grained wood and the unique and pleasant taste of the fruits, it also has a long history of medicinal use. The Native Americans were aware of the […]
Black-Eyed Susan – Health Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Rudbeckia hirta. Other Common Names: Coneflower, brown-eyed Susan, blackiehead, yellow daisy, golden Jerusalem, brown Betty, gloriosa daisy, poorland daisy, yellow ox-eye daisy, blackeyed Susan, gloriosa daisy, hairy coneflower. Habitat: Black-eyed Susan is native to the eastern United States but has spread to the rest of North America. This plant is the official flower […]
Black Cohosh – Side Effects and Health Benefits
Botanical Name: Cimicifuga racemosa L, Actaea racemosa L Black cohosh was once classified with the Genus name Cimicifuga but today the Genus name Actaea is considered the correct scientific name. The old Latin genus name Cimicifuga derives from Cimex, the genus name of the bedbug and the Latin verb “fugare” meaning to repel indicating that […]
Blackberry – Health Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Rubus fruticosus L. coll. The blackberry plant is capable of germinating seeds without pollination (apomictic propagation) and due to this ability, it has given rise to many apomictic micro species that can be very difficult to distinguish from each other. In herbal medicine, the blackberries are considered one species and have the scientific […]
Bitter Orange – Health Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name of Bitter Orange: Citrus aurantium. Other Common Names: Kuang chu, naranja agria, neroli, amara, hua chu hung, citrus bergamia, citrus bigaradia, citrus vulgaris, Seville orange, zhi shi, petit grain, chongcao, bigarade orange, sour orange. Habitat: Bitter orange is a plant or a tree that belongs to the Rutaceae Family. It is a flowering […]
Bitter Melon – Health Benefits and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Momordica charantia. Other Common Names Bitter gourd karela caraili cerasee papailla ampalaya balsam apple balsam pear pare. Habitat Bitter melon requires tropical conditions for growth and as such is found in parts of Asia, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. Plant Description This tropical vine grows to about six to eight feet in […]
Biting Stonecrop – Benefits, Uses and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Sedum acre. Other Common Names: Common stonecrop, golden carpet sedum, wall-pepper, welcome home husband though never so drunk, gul fetknopp (Swedish), helluhnoðri (Icelandic), orpin âcre (French), Scharfer Mauerpfeffer (German), pampajarito (Spanish). Habitat: The plant can be found growing wild in almost all of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Today it’s a popular garden […]