🌿 Sweet Orange Botanical Name: Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck Family: Rutaceae Common Names: Sweet Orange, Orange, Sweet Orange Tree, China Orange Parts Used: Fruit, peel, seeds, flowers, leaves, essential oil Energetics: Warming, aromatic, gently stimulating, drying, sweet, mildly bitter Tissue States: Dampness, digestive stagnation, mild congestion, tension, nervous depletion, sluggish circulation Primary Actions: Carminative, digestive stimulant, mild bitter, aromatic nervin

🌿 Chocolate Tips Botanical Name: Lomatium dissectum (Nutt.) Mathias & Constance Family: Apiaceae Common Names: Chocolate Tips, Fernleaf Biscuitroot, Fernleaf Desert Parsley, Giant Biscuitroot, Giant Lomatium, Carrotleaf Biscuitroot, Cough Root Parts Used: Root primarily; leaves and young shoots have also been used traditionally Energetics: Warming, drying, aromatic, bitter, resinous, stimulating Tissue States: Dampness, respiratory congestion, mucus accumulation, stagnation,

🌿 Labrador Tea Botanical Name: Rhododendron groenlandicum (Oeder) Kron & Judd Synonyms: Ledum groenlandicum, Ledum latifolium Family: Ericaceae Common Names: Labrador Tea, Northern Labrador Tea, Hudson Bay Tea, James Tea, Muskeg Tea, Indian Tea, Bog Labrador Tea Parts Used: Leaves and young shoots Energetics: Aromatic, warming, drying, stimulating, pungent, slightly bitter Tissue States: Dampness, mucus, respiratory congestion, sluggish digestion, chronic stagnation Primary

🌿 Rattlesnake Master Botanical Name: Eryngium yuccifolium Michx. Family: Apiaceae Common Names: Rattlesnake Master, Button Snakeroot, Yucca-leaved Eryngium, Rattlesnake Root, Button Snake-root Parts Used: Root primarily; occasionally leaves and aerial portions Energetics: Warming, drying, stimulating, bitter, pungent Tissue States: Dampness, stagnation, inflammatory congestion, toxic accumulation, sluggish circulation, respiratory congestion Primary Actions: Alterative, diap

🌿 Butternut Botanical Name: Juglans cinerea L. Family: Juglandaceae Common Names: Butternut, White Walnut, Oilnut, Long Walnut Parts Used: Inner bark, root bark, bark of young branches, leaves, nuts Energetics: Warming, stimulating, drying, slightly bitter, relaxing to the bowels Tissue States: Dampness, stagnation, sluggish elimination, intestinal congestion, torpor, accumulated metabolic waste Primary Actions: Alterative, mild laxative, cholagogue, digestive stimulant, ant

🌿 Black Alder Botanical Name: Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. Betulaceae Common Names: Black Alder, European Alder, Common Alder, European Black Alder, Tag Alder Parts Used: Bark, leaves, catkins, and occasionally young twigs Energetics: Cooling, drying, astringent, bitter, stimulating Tissue States: Dampness, lymphatic congestion, edema, chronic inflammation, venous stagnation, tissue laxity, excessive secretions Primary Actions: Alterative, astringent, anti-inflammatory, lymp

🌿 Figwort Botanical Name: Scrophularia nodosa Family: Scrophulariaceae Common Names: Figwort, Knotted Figwort, Woodland Figwort, Throatwort, Rosenoble Parts Used: Root and aerial parts, particularly the root Energetics: Cooling, drying, stimulating, alterative Tissue States: Damp heat, lymphatic congestion, glandular stagnation, chronic skin inflammation, swollen tissues, metabolic accumulation Primary Actions: Alterative, lymphatic stimulant, anti-inflammatory, vulnerary, a

🌿 Devil's Club Botanical Name: Oplopanax horridus Family: Araliaceae Common Names: Devil's Club, Devil's Walking Stick, Alaskan Ginseng, Pacific Devil's Club, Bear's Club Parts Used: Inner root bark and root; occasionally bark and leaves in traditional external preparations Energetics: Warming, stimulating, drying, penetrating Tissue States: Cold, damp stagnation, metabolic sluggishness, chronic weakness, respiratory congestion, inflammatory stagnation Primary Actions: Adapt

🌿 Coltsfoot Botanical Name: Tussilago farfara Family: Asteraceae Common Names: Coltsfoot, Coughwort, Horsefoot, Ass's Foot, Filius ante patrem Parts Used: Leaves and flowers, traditionally the leaf Energetics: Cooling, moistening, soothing, demulcent Tissue States: Dryness, irritated mucous membranes, hot and dry cough, bronchial irritation, respiratory inflammation Primary Actions: Demulcent, expectorant, antitussive, mucosal protectant, anti-inflammatory, respiratory sooth

Few subjects generate more passionate debate today than cannabis and other psychoactive plants and mushrooms. Opinions often fall at opposite extremes. Some oppose their use entirely, while others regard them as a panacea capable of addressing almost every physical, emotional, or spiritual problem. Among practitioners of spiritual and energetic disciplines such as Qigong, Taijiquan, Yoga, and meditation, the latter perspective is especially common. Throughout history, many cu

🌿 Prickly Pear Botanical Name: Opuntia ficus-indica and related Opuntia species Family: Cactaceae Common Names: Prickly Pear, Indian Fig, Barbary Fig, Cactus Pear, Tuna, Nopal, Sabra Parts Used: Pads (cladodes), fruit, flowers, seeds Energetics: Cooling, moistening, nourishing, mildly astringent Tissue States: Heat, dryness, inflammation, metabolic excess, digestive irritation, urinary heat, tissue depletion Primary Actions: Demulcent, nutritive, antioxidant, anti-inflammato

🌿 Wild Indigo Botanical Name: Baptisia tinctoria Family: Fabaceae Common Names: Wild Indigo, Yellow Wild Indigo, Horsefly Weed, Indigo Weed, Rattleweed Parts Used: Root and aerial portions, traditionally the root Energetics: Cooling, stimulating, drying, alterative Tissue States: Toxic accumulation, lymphatic stagnation, septic-type conditions, congested mucous membranes, inflammatory heat, impaired elimination Primary Actions: Alterative, lymphatic stimulant, antimicrobial,

🌿 Oregano Botanical Name: Origanum vulgare Family: Lamiaceae Common Names: Oregano, Wild Marjoram, Mountain Mint, Winter Sweet, Pot Marjoram, Greek Oregano (various cultivated forms) Parts Used: Leaves, flowering tops, essential oil (used with caution) Energetics: Warming, drying, aromatic Tissue States: Cold damp stagnation, respiratory congestion, sluggish digestion, microbial overgrowth, intestinal dysbiosis, chronic mucus accumulation Primary Actions: Antimicrobial, anti

🌿 Night-Blooming Cereus Botanical Name: Selenicereus grandiflorus (historically Cereus grandiflorus) Family: Cactaceae Common Names: Night-Blooming Cereus, Queen of the Night, Lady of the Night, Large-Flowered Cactus, Sweet-Scented Cactus Parts Used: Stem and flowers; traditionally the fresh flowering stem Energetics: Cooling, relaxing, aromatic, slightly bitter Tissue States: Nervous tension, cardiovascular spasm, heat and excitation, circulatory stagnation, muscular constr

🌿 Yerba Santa Botanical Name: Eriodictyon californicum (with related medicinal species including Eriodictyon crassifolium and Eriodictyon trichocalyx) Family: Boraginaceae (formerly Hydrophyllaceae) Common Names: Yerba Santa, Holy Herb, Mountain Balm, Consumptive's Weed, Bear's Weed, Gum Bush Parts Used: Leaves, flowering tops (occasionally) Energetics: Warming, drying, aromatic, slightly bitter Tissue States: Cold damp lungs, stagnant bronchial mucus, chronic respiratory ca

🌿 Angelica Botanical Name: Angelica archangelica (European Angelica)(Related medicinal species include Angelica sinensis (Dong Quai), Angelica atropurpurea (American Angelica), and Angelica dahurica. This monograph focuses primarily on Angelica archangelica.)* Family: Apiaceae Common Names: Angelica, Garden Angelica, Wild Celery, Holy Ghost Root, Norwegian Angelica, Archangel Root, Masterwort (historically, though this name is also used for Peucedanum ostruthium) Parts Used:

🌿 Uva Ursi Botanical Name: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Family: Ericaceae Common Names: Uva Ursi, Bearberry, Bear's Grape, Kinnikinnick, Mountain Box, Sandberry, Arberry Parts Used: Leaves (primarily), occasionally berries (rarely used medicinally) Energetics: Cooling, drying, strongly astringent, slightly bitter Tissue States: Damp heat of the urinary tract, relaxed urinary mucosa, excessive urinary secretions, chronic irritation, catarrhal inflammation, tissue laxity Primary Ac

🌿 Olive Botanical Name: Olea europaea Family: Oleaceae Common Names: Olive, European Olive, Common Olive, Sweet Olive Tree Parts Used: Leaves, fruit (olives), olive oil (cold-pressed extra virgin), occasionally bark Energetics: Cooling, slightly drying (leaf), moistening and nourishing (oil), mildly bitter Tissue States: Heat, inflammation, cardiovascular tension, oxidative stress, metabolic excess, arterial dryness, chronic low-grade infection Primary Actions: Cardiotonic,

🌿 Cinquefoil Botanical Name: Potentilla erecta, Potentilla reptans, Potentilla canadensis, and other Potentilla spp. (The medicinal monograph below primarily reflects Potentilla erecta (Tormentil), the species most widely used in traditional Western herbal medicine.) Family: Rosaceae Common Names: Cinquefoil, Tormentil, Common Cinquefoil, Creeping Cinquefoil, Five-Finger Grass, Five Leaf Grass, Septfoil, Shepherd's Knot Parts Used: Rhizome (primarily in P. erecta), aerial pa

🌿 Self-Heal Botanical Name: Prunella vulgaris Family: Lamiaceae Common Names: Self-Heal, Heal-All, All-Heal, Common Self-Heal, Woundwort, Carpenter's Herb, Hook Heal, Heart of the Earth, Xià Kū Cǎo (夏枯草, in Traditional Chinese Medicine*) Note: In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xià Kū Cǎo refers specifically to the flowering spikes of Prunella vulgaris harvested after flowering. While it is the same species, its traditional preparation and clinical applications emphasize heat-