Herbs for Natural Products

 

The plants listed below are potential natural sources of raw materials and chemicals used to make everyday products such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, oils, dyes and fibre. Herbiseed has a particular interest in plants which have seed oils with properties useful in health and industrial applications, and in plants which contain bioactive compounds or their precursors.

 

The info button links to each plant’s names in 9 languages, other uses (if any), for that species, suggested germination conditions, price of the seed and the buy button.

 

Herb SpeciesUse 
Achillea millefolium.Yellow and green dyes can be obtained from flowers
Agrimonia eupatoria.Shoots gathered from September onwards give yellow dyes, deepening from later harvests
Aloe ferox.Leaf extracts are used in cosmetics.
Althaea officinalis.The plant is a source of fibre and seeds contain oil.
Amaranthus retroflexus.Plants can provide yellow and green dyes.
Anchusa azurea.Roots provide a red dye.
Anthemis nobilis.Yellow and gold dyes are extracted. An essential oil is used in cosmetics and flavourings.
Arctostaphylus uva-ursiA yellow-brown dye is extracted from leaves and a grey-brown dye from fruit.
Asclepias syriaca.The plant is a source of fibre and seeds contain oil.
Ballota nigra.The seed contains oil.
Borago officinalis.A blue dye which turns pink in acids can be obtained from the flowers.
Brassica arvensis.The seed contains oil.
Brassica kaber.The seed contains oil.
Brassica nigra.The seed contains oil.
Brassica rapa (ssp. Campestris).The seed contains oil.
Calendula officinalis.Petals provide a yellow dye for hair or food.
Carduus pycnocephalus.The seed contains oil.
Carthamus lanatus.The seed contains oil.
Carthamus tinctorius.The seed contains oil and yellow and red dyes can be extracted from the flowers.
Centaurea solstitialis.The seed contains oil.
Chamaemelum nobile.Yellow and gold dyes are extracted. An essential oil is used in cosmetics and flavourings.
Chamomilla recutita.A yellow dye can be extracted from flowers.
Chelidonium majus.The seed contains oil.
Chenopodium quinoa.Gold and green dyes can be extracted from the whole plant .
Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium.The insecticide Pyrethrum is obtained from dried flowers.
Chrysanthemum coronarium.Flowering shoots give a golden yellow dye.
Cichorium intybus.A blue dye can be extracted from leaves.
Cirsium vulgare.The seed contains oil.
Clinopodium vulgare.Yellow and brown dyes are obtained from leaves
Cnicus benedictus.The seed contains oil.
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