This evergreen, mint-family perennial is native to the Balkans and the Mediterranean region. Europeans used the gritty leaves on their teeth to sand off plaque.

The plant's tannins are astringent and antiseptic, a big help in preventing gingivitis. Six or so other chemicals assist by fighting inflammation in the body.

Sage can also help with Indigestion, lack of appetite, rhinitis, alzheimer's disease, perspiration, cancer, gingivitis, gum bleeding, stomach disease, canker sores, depression, dermatitis, diarrhea, infertility, lartngitis, and tuberculosis.

Since European explorers arrived in America in the early sixteenth century, the root of this tropical vine, whose several thorny species belong to the lily family, was thought to be a cure for syphilis a sexually transmitted disease.

Sarsaparilla won't cure syphilis. Certain root phytochemicals, called saponins, have soothed psoriasis, most likely by disabling bacterial components called endotoxins that, in excess, can overtax the liver and aggravate inflammatory processes in the body.

Sarsaparilla can also help with, arthritis, cancer, gonorrhea, stomach disease, leprosy, kidney disease, intestinal disease, dermatitis, and irritable bowel syndrome.

The aromatic, sweet-tasting sassafras was regarded as a blood-purifying, all-purpose tonic for whatever ails you, including syphilis. The pleasing flavour made it a favoured tea on both sides of the Atlantic. For a while, only tobacco topped this easern North American native as an export to Europe. As Native Americans knew, sassafras encourages the excretion of urine and lowers body temprature.

Sassafras can also help with, Acne, arthritis, breast inflammation (mastitis), colds, dermatitis, gout, high blood pressure, kidney disease, liver disease, measles, poison ivy, respiratory disease, and urinary tract infections.

To the Seminoles of what is now ths southeastern United States, the reddish brown to black berries on this palm-family shrub were good food. How the Seminoles ate them, we'll never know, for the berries taste terrible and stink to high heaven. Only later were they used to ease upset stomachs and insomnia, among other complaints.

Saw palmetto can also help with Prostate enlargement (benign), gallbladder problems, hair loss, inflammation, cystitis, micromastia (abnormally small breasts), asthma, bronchitis, debility, dysentery, low libido, migraine, stomach disease, testicular problems, and uterine disease.

All but 1 of the more than 20 species are native to eastern Asia; the oddball is a seldom seen vine that grows in southeastern United States and is occasionally cultivated as an ornamental. In Asia, the leaves and berries are consumed as food, and herbal preparations are used as all-purpose tonics. Traditional Chinese physicians recommend schisandra in much the same way they recommend ginseng- as a general tonic and adaptogen that seems to normalize whatever is out of whack in the body.

Schisandra can also help with Hepatitis, paralysis, parkinson's disease, psychosis, stroke, cancer, chemotherapy, depression, fatigue, labor, meniere's disease, impotence, and insomnia.

This tree is in woods, along streams, and on hills from Quebec to North Dakota and south to Florida and Texas. It is more common in the western part of its range.

Slippery elm is from 40 to 50 feet, with a trunk 2 1/2 feet in diameter. The bark is very rough, even the small branches are rough, and the twigs are furnished with rough hairs.

meadows, fields, and woods over the eastern half of North America, as far south as North Carolina and Tennessee. The light blue flowers have violet streaks and grow in dense, axillary, spikelike racemes from May to August. The fruit is an obovate, compressed, hairy capsule.

Diuretic, expectorant, stomachic, tonic. Although speedwell has a reputation, especially in Europe, as a healer of all illnesses, it is used primarily as an expectorant for respiratory problems. It has also been used for stomach ailments, migrain headache, and as a gargle for mouth and throate sores. The fresh juice taken in large quantities is helpful for gout, and it can also be used externally to relive chronic skin problems.