General Database Information

This Herbal Database is in its Infancy.

I’ve decided to make this herbal database public, though it is still in its early stages. I will be working on it for years to come and will add information and revisions as I continue working on the individual herbs and categories.

This project would never have started and been maintained without the tech knowledge and skills of Steve Mandl. A very big thank you, Steve, for making this database a reality.

I suggest checking back periodically to see what has been included or revised.

 

General Database Information
I have tried to make this herbal database as practical and usable within the scope of my personal knowledge and clinical experience. This means many fields are limited or left blank, as I am unsure about specific information. This is especially true about safety, as there has been little rigor in establishing most plants’ general safety profile (Please see the Safety section).

There are several problems with verifying a plant’s medicinal potential. One is the lack of clinical (practicing) herbalists pooling their data. Another is the dearth of thorough, unbiased scientific studies and clinical trials. Many plant studies are conducted by herbal product companies, which carries the same taint as drug companies researching their own products.
In general, herbal medicine is often polarized as an outdated, pointless, and potentially harmful medicine or as magical cure-all remedies. The reality is in between these two polarities.
A lot of what I know about herbal medicine is from clinical practice, teachers, herbalists, and other trusted sources.

Users of this database will need to do their own due diligence and research when figuring out which herbal medicines to use for themselves and others. Much of the information online is unreliable. Please be cautious; human health is complex.
One should always question their information sources, including this one.

Cultural and traditional herbal knowledge are important sources of information on plant medicine, which has been passed on through the generations. But as with all other sources, it is important to examine the basis of the information. Information routinely gets bastardized, especially in the age of the Internet.

My strength is in the Western sciences (physiology, pathophysiology, etc.).
Since I have only basic knowledge of Ayurveda, TCM, and other systems, I have mostly avoided adding information from these systems.

At this time, I have not invited anyone else to collaborate with me on this database. This may seem odd (and a bit hubristic), but creating this database is challenging. I felt that adding other voices would make it more complicated to put together. Perhaps over time, I will start to give the controls to other clinical herbalists for their input.

About the Photos

All the photos in this database are my own, except those I am in.

I admit that I added a lot more photos than necessary. One reason is that I have been taking plant photos for many years, and I finally have a place to show them off. I have also added photos of herbalists, friends, and other folks to show them off as well.

When looking through the individual plant photos, I suggest starting with the first photo of a series, as it often has detailed information, and the following photos generally elaborate and give further details.

I’ve often included related plants, even if they do not have the same medicinal action, just because I adore plants.

The photo captions are mainly about botanical and plant-related information. This is also where I like to share some of my tales and adventures as an herbalist and botanist. Please see the relevant fields in the database for other information about each plant.

Errors and Suggestions

There are likely errors embedded in this database. Please let me know if you note any mistakes in the website technology or about something written. At this time, I am not looking for corrections about uses; instead, I am looking for misspellings or errors of that nature. This is a two person show with me (7Song) inputting the information and Steve Mandl on the tech side. It may take a while to implement any changes. If you have any suggestions or want to report any errors, please contact me at [email protected].