Medicinal
Species traditionally employed in herbalism or modern pharmacology for therapeutic compounds—ranging from anti-inflammatories to cardiac glycosides. Tag a plant “medicinal” when its documented or ongoing use centers on treating or preventing ailments.
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Ayahuasca: Amazonian Plant Lessons
Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian psychoactive brew, has spread globally since the late 1990s, especially through New Age practices and ecotourism. Its deep Indigenous roots and evolving meanings highlight the complex human-plant relationships that have been reshaped in the global marketplace.
vine, psychoactive, medicinal, tropical -
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Cinnamomum verum: Discovering "True" Cinnamon
Once just a kitchen spice—and briefly an internet stunt—cinnamon has a much deeper story rooted in centuries of global trade and discovery. This narrative traces the quest to identify and control “true” cinnamon, revealing its lasting impact on medicine, commerce, and history.
spice, medicinal, tropical -
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Contrayerva
Francis Drake’s 16th-century voyage around the globe helped spark a wave of European interest in exotic plants, feeding the rise of botanical science. This story follows how naturalists like Charles Clusius used explorers’ accounts to build networks, botanical gardens, and a new culture of plant collecting in early modern Europe.
herb, medicinal, root, tropical -
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Dittany: Women’s Herbs and Reproductive Control
Used for over 2,000 years, dittany has been closely tied to women’s health, especially around menstruation and childbirth. This story explores how historical herbals and recipes reflect women’s knowledge and agency in using this medicinal plant across time.
herb, spice, medicinal, temperate -
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Guelder Rose: The Powerful Symbolism of a Plant in Ukraine and Russia
The guelder rose has evolved from a prehistoric European food and fuel plant into a powerful Ukrainian emblem of homeland, resistance, and identity. Its striking morphology underpins centuries of symbolism in songs, art, and literature across Ukraine and Russia, now crystallized in contemporary patriotic culture.
flower, fruit, medicinal, ornamental, shrub, temperate -
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Guelder Rose: The Powerful Symbolism of a Plant in Ukraine and Russia (2 Column Layout)
The guelder rose has evolved from a prehistoric European food and fuel plant into a powerful Ukrainian emblem of homeland, resistance, and identity. Its striking morphology underpins centuries of symbolism in songs, art, and literature across Ukraine and Russia, now crystallized in contemporary patriotic culture.
flower, fruit, medicinal, ornamental, shrub, temperate -
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Jasmine: The Sensual and the Sacred
Jasmine, native to Central and South Asia, has spread worldwide through trade, empire, and cultivation. Its fragrance and beauty have made it central to religion, art, politics, and daily life—from Hindu and Buddhist rituals to Islamic gardens, from Chinese jasmine tea to French perfumery. Across cultures it symbolizes purity, sensuality, devotion, and transience, while also serving as adornment, medicine, and a political emblem, as in Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution.”
flower, medicinal, ornamental, shrub, subtropical, tropical -
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Mint: The Ubiquity of a Commercial Crop
Mint is a globally widespread plant with thousands of varieties, woven into daily life through food, medicine, and products. This story uncovers mint’s overlooked role in botanical history, from naming challenges to its impact on medicine and global plant exchange.
herb, medicinal, temperate -
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Opium Poppy: A Cursed Beauty
The opium poppy has a long, complex history—as a sacred medicinal plant, a source of artistic inspiration, and a driver of addiction and conflict. This story traces its journey from ancient ritual use to modern controversy, revealing shifting perceptions of the poppy as both a symbol of beauty and a global blight.
flower, ornamental, psychoactive, medicinal -
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Passionflower: Christian Curiosity, Exotic Vine, Tropical Fruit
The passionflower (Passiflora), native to the Neotropics, has carried shifting meanings across cultures. Indigenous peoples used it for food and medicine, while Europeans saw symbols of Christ’s Passion in its flowers. By the Victorian era, it was reinterpreted as a sign of exotic beauty and sensuality, spreading into gardens, decorative arts, and poetry. Today, with over 500 species and 400 hybrids, passionflowers are cultivated worldwide for their striking flowers and edible fruits, now celebrated globally as passionfruit.
flower, fruit, medicinal, ornamental, tropical, vine -
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The Broad-Leaf Paperbark: Friend or Foe?
The paperbark tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia) was introduced by colonial powers to reshape landscapes—from Hong Kong’s rocky hillsides to Florida’s swamplands—under the guise of progress and productivity. This story reveals how a once-valued symbol of development became a cautionary tale of ecological disruption and unintended consequences.
tree, medicinal, tropical -
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Turmeric: Herb of the Sun
Turmeric, prized for its vivid yellow-orange rhizome, has long been used as a spice, medicine, and dye across South and Southeast Asia. This story traces how its distinctive color and flavor not only shaped South Asian cuisine but also played a role in British imperial identity and cultural performance.
root, spice, medicinal, tropical -
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Wild Rice: Connecting People to Place
Wild rice (Zizania palustris) is a Great Lakes wetland grass central to Ojibwe culture, ecology, and seasonal harvest traditions. Today its habitats face pressure from colonial land changes, commercialization, and climate threats, driving renewed conservation and Rights-of-Nature efforts.
grain, staple, gluten-free, wetland, temperate, medicinal -
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Wild Yam: The Rhizome of the Pill
Wild yam (Dioscorea villosa), once key to the development of the birth control pill, has a complex history shaped by Indigenous knowledge and commercial science. This story revisits how the plant was studied and represented, challenging traditional botanical illustrations to reflect its deeper cultural and medicinal significance.
root, medicinal, vine, temperate
