Materia Medica

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) — Common Tobacco, Virginia Tobacco
Nicotiana tabacum is the principal cultivated tobacco species, a culturally important American plant containing highly addictive and potentially toxic nicotine. This guide covers botany and traditional context, nicotine poisoning, green tobacco sickness from skin exposure, the health effects of tobacco use, and current U.S. tobacco-product regulation without providing smoking, curing or nicotine-extraction instructions. Read more...
Tonka Bean (Dipteryx odorata) — Coumara Nut, Cumaru
Tonka bean is the intensely fragrant seed of the South American tree Dipteryx odorata and one of the original natural sources of coumarin. This guide reviews its botany, fragrance and traditional uses, explains human coumarin hepatotoxicity, and states the U.S. food restriction accurately: foods containing added coumarin from tonka beans or tonka extract are deemed adulterated. Read more...
Tormentil (Potentilla erecta) — Erect Cinquefoil, Bloodroot
Tormentil, Potentilla erecta, is a tannin-rich European rhizome traditionally used for mild diarrhea and minor inflammation of the mouth. This guide separates it from creeping cinquefoil and North American bloodroot, reviews EMA-recognized traditional use, modern human and laboratory research, safety, identification and sustainable rhizome sourcing. Read more...
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) — Yun Zhi, Cloud Mushroom
Turkey Tail is a widespread wood-decaying polypore used traditionally in East Asia and studied through standardized extracts such as PSK and PSP. This guide separates the whole mushroom from proprietary extracts, reviews human oncology evidence without overstating it, and covers identification, look-alikes, safety and product quality. Read more...
Usnea (Usnea spp.) — Old Man's Beard, Tree Moss
Usnea is a genus of fruticose beard lichens with a long traditional-use history and genuine antimicrobial chemistry, especially around the lichen metabolite usnic acid. This guide explains lichen identity, identification, traditional use, the limits of modern evidence, and the serious liver-safety history of concentrated oral usnic acid. Read more...
Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) — Flat-Leaved Vanilla, Bourbon Vanilla
Vanilla is the cured fruit of a climbing tropical orchid, not simply the flavor molecule vanillin. This guide covers Vanilla planifolia identity, pollination, curing, aroma chemistry, culinary use, traditional medicine, extract standards, allergy and occupational sensitivity, and conservation. Read more...
Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides) — Khus, Khus-Khus
Vetiver is a deep-rooted tropical grass valued for its aromatic roots, earthy essential oil, traditional cooling uses, perfumery, soil stabilization and environmental applications. This guide covers current taxonomy, root chemistry, essential-oil production, traditional medicine, research limits, fragrance safety, growing and sustainable harvest. Read more...
Wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus) — Eastern Wahoo, Burning Bush
Eastern wahoo is a native North American shrub or small tree with striking pink-red fruit and a place in historical American materia medica. Because all parts can be poisonous if ingested and may cause gastrointestinal and cardiac effects, this article focuses on identification, history, ecology and safety rather than home dosing. Read more...
White Mulberry (Morus alba) — Silkworm Mulberry, Common Mulberry
White mulberry is both an edible fruit tree and the source of mulberry-leaf teas and extracts used in East Asian food and herbal traditions. This guide separates fruit, leaf, root bark and standardized extracts, reviews the best human evidence for post-meal glucose effects, and covers medication, allergy and invasive-species cautions. 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...
Wild Cherry (Prunus serotina) — Black Cherry, Wild Black Cherry
Wild cherry bark comes from the North American black cherry, Prunus serotina, whose dried bark has a long cough-syrup tradition. This guide separates medicinal bark from edible pitted fruit and from cyanogenic pits, leaves and twigs, while reviewing the limited modern human evidence and important safety issues. Read more...
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) — Canadian Wild Ginger, Snake Root
Wild ginger is a native eastern North American woodland groundcover with a long ethnobotanical history, but it is not true culinary ginger. Because Asarum species are associated with aristolochic-acid exposure and serious kidney and cancer risks, this guide focuses on identification, history, ecology and safety rather than internal dosing. Read more...