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Roots & tubers

Roots, rhizomes and tubers used across traditional herbal and food practice.

A gnarled wild yam root with heart-shaped vine leaves attached
Roots, rhizomes and tubers used across traditional herbal and food practice.

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Explore Roots & tubers

12 published entries in this Natural Library category.

Bobinsana shown in traditional decoction contextRoots & tubers

Bobinsana

Calliandra angustifolia (identity must be source-verified)

Bobinsana has culinary, historical or practitioner context documented in the original Holistic FAQs collection. This page preserves that record while separating forms, modern research and safety.

Open entry →Tongkat ali shown in traditional root decoction contextRoots & tubers

Tongkat ali

Eurycoma longifolia

Tongkat ali has culinary, historical or practitioner context documented in the original Holistic FAQs collection. This page preserves that record while separating forms, modern research and safety.

Open entry →Chicory root shown in roasted root beverage contextRoots & tubers

Chicory root

Cichorium intybus

Chicory root has culinary, historical or practitioner context documented in the original Holistic FAQs collection. This page preserves that record while separating forms, modern research and safety.

Open entry →A mug of golden moon milk beside root powder and dried berriesRoots & tubers

Ashwagandha

Withania somnifera

An Ayurvedic adaptogen traditionally taken as a bedtime spiced-milk tonic, with real trial support tied to its cortisol-lowering effect.

Open entry →Tall white bottlebrush-shaped flower spikes rising from dark green foliageRoots & tubers

Black Cohosh

Actaea racemosa (formerly Cimicifuga racemosa)

The most extensively studied single menopause herb — and a lesson in how "most studied" doesn't mean "most settled."

Open entry →Dried pale tan dong quai root slices fanned out on dark wood beside a simmering soupRoots & tubers

Dong Quai

Angelica sinensis

"Female ginseng" — disappointing alone in Western trials, meaningfully better in the combination formulas it was actually designed for.

Open entry →Delicate fern-like shatavari foliage beside a brass bowl of golden gheeRoots & tubers

Shatavari

Asparagus racemosus

The "queen of herbs" in Ayurveda — one of the broadest-symptom-coverage clinical trials in this whole cluster.

Open entry →A gnarled brown wild yam root with heart-shaped vine leaves attachedRoots & tubers

Wild Yam

Dioscorea villosa

A genuinely important myth-correction: the "natural progesterone" claim rests on chemistry the human body cannot perform.

Open entry →Long fibrous tan licorice root pieces beside a chewable tabletRoots & tubers

Licorice Root (DGL)

Glycyrrhiza glabra

One of the oldest documented medicinal plants, specifically processed in its DGL form to remove the compound responsible for licorice's most dangerous side effect.

Open entry →A carved wooden bowl of pale kava beverage beside kava root piecesRoots & tubers

Kava

Piper methysticum

Genuine Cochrane-reviewed anxiolytic efficacy and a genuine, FDA-flagged liver-toxicity risk — both given equal weight, the same standard applied to yohimbine.

Open entry →Valerian plant with tall stems, pinnately divided leaves and pale pink flower clusters beside a cut, dried rootRoots & tubers

Valerian root

Valeriana officinalis

Valerian root is a European herb with a long tradition as a bedtime and nervous-tension remedy. Human trials suggest a modest, subjective improvement in sleep quality with specific extracts, but results are inconsistent and the evidence does not support it as a treatment for chronic insomnia.

Open entry →Rhodiola rosea growing among rocks with fleshy blue-green leaves and yellow flower heads, with a section of golden rootRoots & tubers

Rhodiola

Rhodiola rosea

Rhodiola is an arctic and alpine root with Russian and Scandinavian traditions for fatigue and stress. Small trials of specific ethanolic extracts show mixed results, and the whole genus is now listed under CITES because wild root harvest threatens populations.

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