About & methodology
How Botanica was built, and what you can trust
What is Botanica?
Botanica is an open educational reference for medicinal and edible plants. It draws on multiple healing traditions and documents traditional plant use alongside safety information, evidence levels, and cited sources. It is not a medical resource and does not provide treatment advice.
How the knowledge base was built
Every plant entry begins with a literature review — drawing on peer-reviewed studies, traditional pharmacopoeia, ethnobotanical surveys, and historical texts from multiple traditions. No entry is published without a traceable source. Claims are graded by evidence level and safety flag; folk and historical associations are clearly distinguished from clinical evidence.
Evidence levels
- ClinicalTested in human clinical trials. The highest standard of evidence.
- PreclinicalLaboratory or animal studies — promising but not yet confirmed in humans.
- Traditional (systematized)Documented in systematic traditional medicine literature (e.g., pharmacopoeia, clinical herbalism).
- FolkReported in folk medicine sources. Not clinically validated. Treat as anecdotal.
- HistoricalFound in historical texts. Limited or no modern study.
Folk, historical, and traditional systematized entries reflect documented traditional use — not proven clinical efficacy. These levels do not imply a health benefit.
Quality & review
All non-trivial entries undergo dual independent review before publication — two reviewers independently assess safety classification, evidence grading, and source accuracy. Any disagreement triggers a structured resolution process.