Materia Medica

Trachyspermum ammi ajwain plant with finely divided leaves and white compound umbels
Ajwain / Carom (Trachyspermum ammi) — Yavani / Ajowan
Ajwain / Carom (Trachyspermum ammi) materia medica covering Ayurvedic energetics, botanical identity, culinary and digestive traditions, preparations and dose context, thymol-rich essential-oil chemistry, human combination trials, safety, pregnancy cautions, cultivation... Read more...
Smyrnium olusatrum Alexanders with glossy divided leaves and yellow-green compound umbels
Alexanders / Alisander (Smyrnium olusatrum) — Black Lovage / Wild Celery
Alexanders / Alisander (Smyrnium olusatrum) materia medica covering its historic vegetable use, botanical identity, Apiaceae foraging safety, roots/leaves/shoots/fruits, isofuranodiene-rich furanosesquiterpenes, heat conversion to curzerene, modern research limits, cultivation and food... Read more...
Parsley leaf (Petroselinum crispum)
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) — Garden Parsley, Curly Parsley
A whole-plant guide to parsley (Petroselinum crispum), covering the living plant, leaves, root, flowers and seed, cut-and-sifted and powdered forms, culinary preparations, traditional herbal context, research, safety and folklore. Read more...
Wild Carrot (Daucus carota) — Queen Anne's Lace, Bird's Nest
Wild carrot, or Queen Anne’s lace, is the wild form of the species complex that gave rise to cultivated carrot. Its food and folk-medicine history must be balanced against a serious identification hazard: deadly poison hemlock and water hemlock can grow in similar habitats. This guide emphasizes multi-feature identification, historical use and safety. Read more...