Many of the herbs in Mexican herb stalls have been introduced from other continents. This reminds us that more than Mexican-mercado herb stalls being museum like vestiges of the past, they are serious "people's pharmacies" where people go for traditional cures, either because they believe in the cures, or because that's all they can afford.

When you study Mexican herbal remedies, notice how often the Doctrine of Signatures is in evidence. This is the principle that a plant indicates its use for human beings by its shape, behavior, odor, or some other natural feature. Thus an infusion of doradilla, the little resurrection plant growing on rocks and perhaps giving the impression that is breaking up the rock, is used traditionally by Mexicans to break up kidney and gall stones. Hierba de la golondrina, a euphorbia with milky-white latex oozing from any breaks inflicted on its skin, is used to cure eye diseases of the sort characterized by a milky opaqueness spreading across the lens.

Finally, please heed this warning: Do not experiment with these. Very often an herb that is medicinal in one dosage is poisonous in others. Some of these herbs are extremely potent!

Aguacate: (avocado, Persea americana): for intestinal worms, grate 8 to 10 grams of fresh avocado-pit rind into a glass of water, and the next day sweeten it, drink, and eat nothing

 

Altea: (plantain, Plantago spp.): for dysentery, cook the root in rice

 

Añil: (indigo, Indigofera suffruticosa): for children's headaches, boil leaves until soft, then apply the leaves like a bandage to the forehead

 

Arnica: (golden aster, Heterotheca inuloides): for bruises, boil the flower heads into a mass, and apply

 

Borraja: (borage, Borago officinalis): for bronchitis and fevers, boil 10 grams of flowers and young leaves in a liter of water, and drink the tea

 

Cedrón: (lemon verbena, Aloysia triphylla): tea from the boiled leaves, taken while fasting, regularizes the menstrual flow, and expels worms

 

Chicalote: (prickly poppy, Argemone ochroleuca): for stomach pain, mash 4 grams of seeds in 200 cc of water, take two or three times a day

 

Clavellina: (ceiba, Bombax palmeri): for skin wounds, roast and grind the bark, and apply

 

Codo de fraile: (oleander, Thevetia thevetioides): for hemorrhoids, mash seeds, mix in lard, and apply

 

Cola de caballo: (horsetail, Equisetum spp.): brewed teas of the stems are diuretic, and have been used against dysentery and gonorrhea

 

Culantrillo: (maidenhair fern, Adiantum capillus): to "thin the blood," for constipation, liver problems, and kidney stones, boil about 5 grams in half a liter of water, and take a small cup every day

 

Damiana: (turnera, Turnera diffusa): for nervousness and weakness, take a tea made by boiling the macerated leaves

 

Doradilla: (resurrection plant, Selaginella lepidophylla an infusion has salutary effects on the kidneys and liver, and breaks up gallstones.

 

Encino: (oak, Quercus spp.): for diarrhea, drink tea made from boiling the tree's bark

 

Gordolobo: (cudweed Gnaphalium spp.): a handful of this weedy herb brewed in a pot of water is very much used against coughs and sore throats.

 

Guamúchil: (Manila tamarind, Pithecellobium dulce): for diarrhea, bloody and otherwise, boil bark from the root and drink

 

Hierba de la golondrina: (spurge, Euphorbia spp): white latex from the plant is famed for curing "spots on the eye"

 

Lantén: (plantain, Plantago spp.): for burns, bruises, and mouth sores, boil 100 grams of leaves in 500 ml of water, and wash the affected area

 

Magnolia: (magnolia, Talauma mexicana): a tea from the bark serves as a general tonic, but too much causes the heart to beat irregularly

 

Maguey: (maguey, Agave atrovirens): for bruises and pains resulting from hard blows to the body, squeeze juice from a roasted leaf, boil it down, sweeten, and drink

 

Muicle: (jacobinia, Jacobinia spicigera): a tea from the leaves combats dysentery

 

Nanche: (golden spoon, Byrsonima crassifolia): to improve digestion and appetite, and generally improve one's feeling, cook the bark and drink the tea

 

Naranjo agrio: (sour orange, Citrus aurantium): a tea from the leaves is used as a general tonic, calming agent, for heart palpitations, and epilepsy

 

Nogal: (walnut, Juglans regia): wash skin sores and cure thrush in infants with a tea made from boiled leaves

 

Ortiga: (jatropa, Jatropha spp.): several different plants are called ortiga, but the roots of this one are used against venereal diseases

 

Palo dulce: (eysenhardtia, Eysenhardtia polystachya): for kidney problems, place wood chips into water, and when the water turns blue, then red or amber, drink

 

Pata de león: (wild geranium, Geranium spp.): an infusion of this herb is added to the bath water of babies to rid them of the rash; the brew is also good for washing wounds.

 

Pingüica: (manzanita, Arctostaphylos pungens): for kidney problems, drink a tea made from boiled leaves and fruits

 

Romero: (rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis): to improve the digestion, drink a tea made of the boiled leaves

 

Ruda:, (rue, Ruta graveolens): highly regarded for its abilities to induce menstruation, and to abort fetuses; in too high concentrations, it is exceedingly poisonous.

 

Sauco: (elderberry, Sambucus mexicana): for the cough, make a tea from the boiled flowers

 

Tejocote: (hawthorn, Crataegus mexicana): to "flush out the kidneys," boil the root in water and drink the tea

 

Tepopote: (Mormon tea, Ephedra antisyphilitica): a tea from the boiled stems is used against venereal diseases and kidney problems

 

Tilia: (linden or basswood, Tilia spp.): for coughs, a tea brewed from the boiled flowers is drunk

 

Uña de gato: (pisonia, Pisonia aculeata): several plants go by this name, but for this one, a member of the four o'clock family, drink tea from boiled leaves and bark to ease arthritic pain in joints

 

Zacate limón: (lemon-grass, or citronella, Cymbopogon nardus): the lemony brewed tea is a good anti-flatulent and soothes the intestines in general

One medicinal plant deserves special mention. Anyone seeing the number of stalls a good-size mercado devotes to

ajo:, or garlic, will be impressed by how important Mexicans seem to regard this bulb. Most garlic of course is destined for culinary use, but the traditional Mexican pharmacopoeia also grants garlic an eminent place.

Garlic juice is applied to scorpion stings and spider bites. Garlic taken internally is regarded by many as a stimulant to the body in general, and traditionally has been used to control hypertension and arteriosclerosis. For these latter purposes several cloves are mashed, the paste is placed in a glass, and just enough drinking alcohol is added to cover it. Every day for a week the glass's contents is stirred. Finally it is strained, and then after every meal five drops are taken. The next week the dosage is doubled, and every week this doubling is continued, until arriving at twenty drops per dosage. After a week of twenty drops, the dosage is diminished to fifteen drops for a week, and then ten and five drops on subsequent weeks. At the end of the second five-drop week, the treatment is ended.

You may be interested in this book from Amazon.Com: Plantas Medicinales De Mexico/Medical Plants of Mexico