Valerian ( Valeriana officinalis ) is known for its calming properties. It's a prominent plant in natural health and herbal medicine....

The alchemy of elixirs goes back to early mankind, when plants with known healing properties are combined, boiled or mashed. The mortar...

Renaissance herbal recipes focus on health and medicine, but can also include dyeing, coloring and pigment making. Botanical knowledge...

Mendes is an important city of ancient Egypt, in the Nile Delta. The bolus of Mendes or Mendesian bole refers to a medical preparation...

Alchemy, a fusion of science, philosophy and mysticism, emerges in practice from the 1st century AD. Among the power civilizations of...

Pedanius Dioscorides is a surgeon in the army of Emperor Nero . His knowledge of surgery and other medical skills suggests study in...

Making a proper theriac takes months. The recipe calls for plants collected in season, and the distillation or fermentation of herbs,...

Hair loss and baldness ( alopecia ) is a fear in ancient times, if hair is a sign of status, youth or virility. First century AD Greek...

Innovative Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus is strongly influenced by the 7 principles of Hermeticism and a holistic approach to...

Spagyria is the alchemy of plants. In the quest for the Philosopher's Stone and Elixir of Life, alchemists work with the nature of...

Shennong is one of the Three Sovereigns of ancient Chinese lore. Also called the Divine Farmer, he's strongly associated with...

Mahaleb cherry (Prunus mahaleb) or St. Lucie cherry is a species of fruit tree cultivated for a spice in the cherry stones. The fruit...

Mad honey comes from a group of plant-produced neurotoxins named after Leucothoe grayana, a plant native to Japan. Grayanotoxins can...

Yarrow is an herb of magic and medicine. A flowering plant native to the northern hemisphere yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is commonly...

Ephedra is a genus of shrub growing in hot arid and semi-arid regions throughout the world. As a natural health medicine plant and...