Welcome to my ever-growing collection of medicinal plants. :)
This index brings together all of the materia medica I’ve covered in The Buffalo Herbalist so far, with everything organized alphabetically by common name so you can easily come back whenever you’re studying a plant, researching something, or just feel like wandering around and learning.
Some plants have a single article while others have accumulated quite the collection over time. Depending on what I’ve covered, you may find an in-depth article, printable materia medica, research guide, or additional resources exploring a specific aspect of the plant.
My approach to materia medica has also changed quite a bit since I started The Buffalo Herbalist. I’m increasingly interested in what’s happening underneath the traditional indications, from the constituents present in a plant and their physiology and pharmacology to what the research literature can tell us about its effects. I’m also paying much closer attention to where the evidence becomes murky and what the literature tells us about safety.
Traditional herbal knowledge still has a home here too. I think having both gives us a much richer way to understand a plant than reducing it to a list of “this herb is for X.”
You’ll notice that some of the articles linked throughout the index are free to read! The index itself is a paid resource, along with the printable materia medica PDFs, extended research guides, and other resources I’ve created to accompany it. If you’re a paid subscriber, think of this page as your home base for finding all of it without having to dig through years of posts.
And we’re currently at 20 plants, which feels simultaneously like a lot and nowhere near enough hahah. I’ll keep adding new entries and resources as they make their way into The Buffalo Herbalist.
Happy studying!
Current Materia Medica Entries
Each plant may include one or more of the following:
In-depth article
Printable materia medica PDF
Extended research or academic paper
Alphabetical by common name
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Burdock (Arctium lappa)
Butterbur (Petasites spp.)
Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
Cleavers (Galium aparine)
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)
Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)
Licorice Root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis)
Moringa (Moringa oleifera)
Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
Nettles (Urtica dioica)
Plantain (Plantago major)
Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)
Roses (Rosa spp.)
Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens)
Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)
Who This Index Is For
Herbal students who want structure rather than scattered notes
Practitioners who care about mechanism, safety, and context
Clinicians and researchers interested in plant–physiology relationships
Readers who want to understand why an herb works, not just when to use it
Anyone ready to move beyond list-based wellness content into real depth
Full access to the Materia Medica Index and all linked PDFs is available to paid members.
As this library grows, paid subscribers automatically gain access to every new entry added in the future.