299 articles
Plantaginaceae
Plantaginaceae, the plantain family (Lamiales), about 2,100 species in ~106 genera worldwide; expanded from polyphyletic Scrophulariaceae, 12 tribes, includes Plantago, Antirrhinum, Digitalis, Penstemon, Veronica.
Plantago coronopus
Plantago coronopus, buck's-horn plantain, is a salt-tolerant Plantaginaceae herb native from Europe to Central Asia, with lobed rosette leaves eaten in salads, four subspecies, and introduced invasive populations in Korea, Australia, and the Americas.
Plantago lanceolata
Plantago lanceolata, ribwort plantain or narrowleaf plantain, a perennial Plantaginaceae herb native to temperate Eurasia and Macaronesia, naturalized worldwide; used as forage, food, and an EMA-listed traditional demulcent cough remedy.
Plantago major
Plantago major (broadleaf plantain, great plantain, white-man's-foot) is a Plantaginaceae herb native to temperate Eurasia and Africa, introduced worldwide, a lawn weed of compacted soil and an ancient wound-healing medicinal herb; distinct from psyllium (P. ovata).
Plectranthus
Plectranthus L'Hér., a mint-family (Lamiaceae) genus described in 1788, formerly held about 450 Old World tropical species; molecular phylogenetics split it in 2019, moving most species to Coleus and Equilabium, leaving 72 in Plectranthus sensu stricto.
Plumeria
Plumeria, commonly known as frangipani or dok champa, is a genus of about 11 species of shrubs and small trees native to tropical America, grown for its fragrant, waxy flowers.
Plumeria rubra
Plumeria rubra, frangipani or temple tree (Apocynaceae), a deciduous tree native from Mexico to Venezuela, widely cultivated in the tropics for fragrant white, pink, yellow, or red flowers; IUCN least concern, medicinally used, low weed risk.
Pogostemon
Pogostemon, also called pogostemon or patchouli genus, is a Lamiaceae genus of about 80-95 herb and shrub species with disjunct African-Asian distribution; P. cablin yields patchouli essential oil, about 1,300 tonnes yearly.
Potato
Potato (Solanum tuberosum, papa): Andean nightshade tuber domesticated near Lake Titicaca 10,000–7,000 years ago, the world's fourth most important food crop, spread to Europe in the 1570s and a staple by 1800.
Premna
Premna L. (also Premna integrifolia, agnimantha) is a genus of about 130 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas in Lamiaceae, subfamily Premnoideae, native to the Old World tropics and used in traditional medicine.
Primula auricula
Primula auricula, commonly called auricula, bear's ear, or mountain cowslip, is a perennial primrose native to the Alps and other mountains of central and southern Europe, and a prized garden plant since the sixteenth century.
Privet
Privet (Ligustrum), a genus of about 40 Oleaceae shrubs and small trees from Eurasia to Queensland, long used for clipped hedges; several species, notably Chinese privet (L. sinense), are major invasive weeds with toxic fruit.
Privet as an invasive plant
Privet (Ligustrum spp.), including Chinese privet (L. sinense), is invasive hedge shrubs forming dense thickets that displace native forest understory; bird-dispersed seed, root-crown sprouting, herbicide cut-stump control, no biocontrol.
Prunella vulgaris
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal, heal-all, Xiakucao 夏枯草), a perennial Lamiaceae herb native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and Central America, used in Chinese medicine as the dried fruit spike and in pollinator-friendly lawns.
Psychotria viridis
Psychotria viridis (chacruna), a Rubiaceae shrub from Mexico to tropical South America, is the DMT-containing leaf ingredient of ayahuasca, containing 1–1.6 mg DMT per gram of dry leaf; often confused with the alkaloid-free P. carthagenensis.
Psyllium
Psyllium, also known as isabgol or ispaghula, is the gel-forming husk fiber of the plant Plantago ovata, used as a bulk laxative and to lower cholesterol.
Pulmonaria
Pulmonaria (lungwort) is a Boraginaceae genus of about 18 perennial species native to Europe, Siberia, and N. China, with red-to-blue aging flowers, distyly, spotted leaves, and shade-garden use.
Pulmonaria officinalis
Pulmonaria officinalis, lungwort or pulmonaire officinale, is a spotted-leaved European borage-family perennial whose flowers shift from red to blue; IUCN Least Concern, long used for lung ailments.
Rauvolfia serpentina
Rauvolfia serpentina (Indian snakeroot, sarpagandha), an Apocynaceae shrub of South Asia whose reserpine-rich roots were major antihypertensive and sedative drugs; endangered by over-exploitation.
Rehmannia glutinosa
Rehmannia glutinosa (地黄, dihuang, Chinese foxglove) is a Chinese perennial herb whose tuberous root, used fresh, dried, or steamed, is a major traditional medicine; over 310 constituents including catalpol are documented.
Rhinanthus minor
Rhinanthus minor, yellow rattle, is a hemiparasitic annual of Orobanchaceae native from Europe to western Siberia, parasitizing grasses via haustoria and used to create wildflower meadows; seeds rattle in its papery calyx.
Richardia brasiliensis
Richardia brasiliensis (tropical Mexican clover, Brazil pusley), a prostrate Rubiaceae herb native from Ecuador to northern Argentina, naturalized as a weed of turf, soybean, and corn across Florida, Australia, Asia, and Africa.
Rosemary
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus, formerly Rosmarinus officinalis) is an aromatic evergreen shrub of the mint family native to the Mediterranean, grown worldwide as a culinary herb and source of essential oil.
Rubia
Rubia (madder), Old World Rubiaceae genus of about 80-87 species including R. tinctorum and R. cordifolia; roots yield alizarin and purpurin red dyes used since antiquity and in traditional medicine.
Rubia tinctorum
Rubia tinctorum (dyer's madder), a Rubiaceae perennial native from SE Europe to Xinjiang, whose alizarin- and purpurin-rich roots have dyed textiles red since 2000 BC; synthetic alizarin (1868) largely replaced it.
Rubiaceae
Rubiaceae, the coffee or madder family (Gentianales), is the fourth-largest angiosperm family with about 586 accepted genera and over 14,000 species, defined by interpetiolar stipules and inferior ovaries; includes Coffea, Cinchona, Gardenia, and Psychotria.
Sabatia
Sabatia Adans. (rose gentian, marsh-pink) is a genus of 21 Gentianaceae herb species native from southeastern Canada to Mexico and the Caribbean, named for Italian botanist Liberato Sabbati, published 1763.
Salvia
Salvia (sages), largest genus of Lamiaceae with roughly 900-1000 species, cosmopolitan herbs and shrubs defined by two stamens forming a pollen-depositing lever mechanism; includes culinary sage Salvia officinalis.
Salvia divinorum
Salvia divinorum (Diviner's Sage, Maria Pastora, Sally-D), a perennial mint native to Oaxaca, Mexico, used by Mazatec shamans; its diterpene salvinorin A is the only known non-alkaloidal hallucinogen and a selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist, producing short-lived dissociative effects; not federally scheduled in the US but banned in many states.
Salvia hispanica
Salvia hispanica (chia) is an annual Lamiaceae herb native to Mexico and Guatemala, domesticated in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica; its seeds, rich in fiber, protein, and alpha-linolenic acid, are a globally marketed functional food.