Explore Herbs & Botanicals

Find a guide by its common name. Scientific names are listed so you can tell similar plants apart; each guide gives the plant part used, what research shows and the cautions. This page is a browsing aid, not a safety check: one herb can involve several plant parts and forms with different risks.

A to Z directory of guides

Names were checked against the GBIF backbone taxonomy on 2026-10-22. [15] Three notes on names:

• Rosemary. GBIF lists Rosmarinus officinalis as a synonym of Salvia rosmarinus, so you may see either name. [15]
• Cassia cinnamon. NCCIH calls it Cinnamomum aromaticum. [16] GBIF matched that name but did not match Cinnamomum cassia to a species. [15]
• Coleus forskohlii. GBIF lists Coleus forskohlii and Plectranthus barbatus as synonyms of different accepted names, Coleus hadiensis and Coleus barbatus. [15] Check which name a product or study used. See Plant Names and Botanical Nomenclature.

Psychoactive plants

The psychoactive plant profiles (for example peyote, Salvia divinorum, iboga and ayahuasca vine) are information-only pages from the Specialty Topics library, kept in this hub. GBIF accepts Lophophora williamsii, Salvia divinorum, Tabernanthe iboga and Banisteriopsis caapi as species names. [15] For San Pedro cactus, GBIF lists Echinopsis pachanoi as a synonym. [15] The San Pedro cactus guide is the profile for that plant. Browse Specialty Topics for more.

Elsewhere on the site

Ashwagandha, rhodiola, ginseng, eleuthero, holy basil and similar herbs are in Adaptogens. Mushrooms are in Mushrooms, essential oils in Essential Oils & Aromatherapy, and tea and tincture products in Herbal Teas & Extracts. The complete Herbs Database in the Research Library holds many more plant records, and What Are Herbs & Botanicals? explains how the library fits together.

What is not covered: plants without a guide here are not listed, and a plant's absence is not a statement about its safety. The directory does not rank herbs.