Donate
Every donation matters.
Exploring plant histories
Interested in plants, vegetables, and fruit, their medicinal and alimentary uses? Captivated by their deep-time history? Old Herbs is for you. It tells the history of ancient herbs in original essays based on the study and critical analysis of original texts and modern literature. It brings back to light and to life a century-old knowledge, uncovers ignored and sometimes unexpected facts, and also debunks myths and beliefs.
Learn MoreSearch our Collections
Old Herbs presents a series of entries on herbs used in the past for therapeutic and alimentary purposes. The first release (October 2019) presents 27 plants with a significant history. It will gradually increase over time so as to cover the history of Mediterranean medicinal plants as completely as possible.
Each entry is devoted to one plant and is identified by the English common name of the plant, and provides the scientific name of the plant as well as common names in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. The collection of entries can be searched by any of these names.
Read More
-
- Aloe
-
As the "socotrina" name of one of Aloe species indicates, Aloe was originally believed to be...
-
Scientific name: Aloe vera (Asphodelaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Aloe, True aloe
- French: Aloès
- German: Aloe
- Italian: Aloe
- Spanish: Aloe vera, Sábila, Aloe de Barbados
-
Warning
- Autumn crocus
-
The ancient Greek populations and scientists knew very well the toxic properties of Autumn crocus, which...
-
Scientific name: Colchicum autumnale ( Colchicaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Autumn crocus
- French: Colchique
- German: Teufelswurz
- Italian: Colchico d'autunno; Falso zafferano
- Spanish: azafrán bastardo
-
- Chaste tree
-
Both "agnus" and "castus" in the scientific name "Vitex agnus-castus" refer to chastity in Greek and...
-
Scientific name: Vitex agnus-castus (Lamiaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Chaste tree, Chasteberry
- French: Gattilier
- German: Mönchspfeffer
- Italian: Agnocasto
- Spanish: Añocasto, Sauzgatillo
-
- Chinese-lantern
-
Within the group of the Solanaceae, the Chinese lantern was not well identified in the past....
-
Scientific name: Physalis alkekengi (Solanaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Chinese lantern, Winter cherry
- French: Alkékenge, Cerise d'hiver
- German: Gewöhnliche Blasenkirsche
- Italian: Alchechengi comune
- Spanish: Linterna china, Alquequenje
-
- Cinnamon
-
Supposedly coming from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the bark of the Cinnamon tree was identified by...
-
Scientific name: Cinnamomum verum (Lauraceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Cinnamon
- French: Cannelle
- German: Ceylon-Zimtbaum
- Italian: Cannella
- Spanish: Canela
-
- Deadly nightshade
-
Still used today in ophthalmology, Deadly nightshade became fashionable during the Renaissance.
-
Scientific name: Atropa belladonna (Solanaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Deadly nightshade
- French: Belladone
- German: Tollkirsche
- Italian: Belladonna
- Spanish: Belladona
-
- Fennel
-
The long hollow stems of Fennel were used by Herakles as a quiver to hide the...
-
Scientific name: Foeniculum vulgare (Apiaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Fennel
- French: Fenouil
- German: Fenchel
- Italian: Finocchio
- Spanish: Eneldo
-
- Foxglove
-
Although the action of Foxglove was discovered only in 1775 by William Withering, its toxic effects...
-
Scientific name: Digitalis purpurea (Scrophulariaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Digitalis purpurea
- French: Digitale pourpre
- German: Roter Fingerhut
- Italian: Digitale rossa
- Spanish: Alcahueta del cerezo
-
- Hemp
-
If we have to believe the ancient historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC, Hemp seeds...
-
Scientific name: Cannabis sativa (Cannabaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Hemp
- French: Chanvrier
- German: Hanf
- Italian: Canapa
- Spanish: Cáñamo
-
- Laurel
-
According to Greek mythological accounts, this ubiquitous Mediterranean tree resulted from the transformation of the nymph...
-
Scientific name: Laurus nobilis (Lauraceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Bay Laurel, Bay tree
- French: Laurier
- German: Echter Lorbeer
- Italian: Alloro
- Spanish: Laurel común, Lauro
-
- Leek
-
In Antiquity, the same term ("Prason") designed both leek and an alga, probably because of the...
-
Scientific name: Allium porrum (Amaryllidaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Garden leek
- French: Poireau
- German: Ackerlauch
- Italian: Porro
- Spanish: Porro
-
- Licorice
-
The Greek name of Licorice makes it clear that its root were already chewed in the...
-
Scientific name: Glycyrrhiza glabra (Fabaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Licorice, Liquorice
- French: Réglisse
- German: Süßholz
- Italian: Liquirizia
- Spanish: Regaliz
-
- Mandrake
-
The magic plant of Harry Potter and his fellow students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft...
-
Scientific name: Mandragora officinarum (Solanaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Mandrake
- French: Mandragore
- German: Alraune
- Italian: Mandragora
- Spanish: Mandrágora
-
- Myrtle
-
This evergreen small bush with delicate white flowers was linked with the goddess Aphrodite and the...
-
Scientific name: Myrtus communis (Myrtaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Myrtle
- French: Myrte
- German: Myrte
- Italian: Mirto
- Spanish: Mirto
-
- Onion
-
Characterized by its sharp taste, onion was known in a great variety of species om Antiquity:...
-
Scientific name: Allium cepa (Amaryllidaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Onion
- French: Oignon
- German: Zwiebel
- Italian: Cipolla
- Spanish: Cebolla
-
- Opium poppy
-
A plant of the Greek goddess of agriculture Demeter, poppy is represented with its capsules on...
-
Scientific name: Papaver somniferum ( Papaveraceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Opium poppy
- French: Pavot somnifère
- German: Schlafmohn
- Italian: Papavero da oppio
- Spanish: Adormidera
-
- Rosemary
-
"Libanotis", the ancient Greek name of Rosemary, hints at the long-term history of the plant that...
-
Scientific name: Rosmarinus officinalis (Lamiaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Rosemary
- French: Romarin
- German: Rosmarin
- Italian: Rosmarino
- Spanish: Romero
-
- Southernwood
-
Most probably native to Cappadocia (central Turkey), Southernwood is exactly described by the 1st-century Greek pharmacognosist...
-
Scientific name: Artemisia abrotanum (Asteraceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Southernwood
- French: Aurone
- German: Eberraute
- Italian: Abrotano
- Spanish: Abrótano macho
-
- St. John’s wort
-
Flowering at Summer solstice, this plant was named in the early centuries of Christianity after Saint...
-
Scientific name: Hypericum perforatum (Hypericaceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: St. John's Wort
- French: Millepertuis
- German: Blutkraut
- Italian: Iperico perforato
- Spanish: Hierba de San Juan
-
- Sweet flag
-
Possibly native to the Himalayas, Sweet flag was supposedly typical of the Black Sea and Crete...
-
Scientific name: Acorus calamus (Acoraceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Sweet flag
- French: Roseau aromatique
- German: Echter Kalmus
- Italian: Calamo aromatico
- Spanish: Cálamo aromático
-
- Withania
-
Named in the past by the generic name of plants now identified as Solanaceae, "Withania" was...
-
Scientific name: Withania somnifera
-
Common Name:
- English: Withania, Ashwagandha
- French: Ashwagandha, Cerise d'hiver
- German: Schlafbeere
- Italian: Alchechengi falso
- Spanish: Ashwagandha, Ginseng indio
-
- Wormwood
-
The fashionable 19th-century liquor absinth has been abandoned since, whereas the plant has been used medicinally...
-
Scientific name: Artemisia absinthium (Asteraceae)
-
Common Name:
- English: Wormwood, Absinth
- French: Absinthe, Absinthe amère
- German: Wermut, Absinth
- Italian: Assenzio
- Spanish: Ajenjo