Nervine Herbs: The Full List by Strength

A nervine is a plant that acts on the nervous system, and Western herbalism sorts the nervines into three groups by what they do to it: the nervine tonics, which feed and restore worn nerves over weeks; the nervine relaxants, which ease tension in the hours after they are taken, from the mildest to the frankly sedative; and the nervine stimulants, which rouse. The sorting is David Hoffmann's and is the working one in modern phytotherapy. The adaptogens are a fourth group, not nervines strictly, and are set apart below.

Nervine tonics

The tonics are given to the person who is exhausted, frayed, and reactive, and they are taken daily for a month or more before they are judged.

Milky Oat, Avena sativa, the seed in its milky stage, tinctured fresh. Sweet, moist, mildly warm. The tonic for depletion after long stress, grief, and withdrawal from stimulants, and the gentlest of the group.
Skullcap, Scutellaria lateriflora, the flowering aerial parts, best fresh. Cool, dry, bitter. Tonic and relaxant at once, for the mind that spins, for nervous twitching, and for the person who is tired but cannot settle. The American species is meant; the Chinese Huang Qin, Scutellaria baicalensis, is a different plant with a different use.
St John's Wort, Hypericum perforatum, the flowering tops. Warm, dry. The tonic for low mood with nervous exhaustion, slow to act, and the one nervine with serious drug interactions, since it lowers the blood levels of oral contraceptives, antidepressants, and many other drugs through CYP3A4.
Vervain, Verbena officinalis, the aerial parts. Cool, dry, bitter. For the driven, overworked person who cannot stop, with tension in the neck and a tight stomach.
Wood Betony, Stachys officinalis, the aerial parts. Warm, dry. The medieval nervine for the head and for tension headache.

Nervine relaxants, from mild to strong

The relaxants are taken when tension is present and are chosen by the person's heat and the tissue that holds the tension.

Chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla, the flower. Slightly warm, dry, bitter. The relaxant for the irritable and the child, for tension held in the gut.
Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis, the leaf, fresh. Cool, dry, aromatic. For the hot, anxious person with palpitations and a restless stomach; also antiviral.
Linden, Tilia species, the flower and bract. Cool, moist. For tension with a fast heart and raised blood pressure, and for the anxious elderly.
Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, the flower. Warm, dry, aromatic. For tension with headache and low spirits.
Motherwort, Leonurus cardiaca, the aerial parts. Cool, dry, bitter. For the anxious heart, palpitations, and the tension of menopause; not in pregnancy.
Passionflower, Passiflora incarnata, the aerial parts. Cool, dry. For circular thinking at bedtime and for the person whom valerian overheats.
Hops, Humulus lupulus, the strobile. Cool, dry, bitter. A sedative for the sleepless with a heated, restless mind; low in depression, where it is avoided.
Valerian, Valeriana officinalis, the root. Warm, dry. The strongest common relaxant, for the cold, tense sleeper, and a plant that adds to sedative drugs.
California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica, the whole plant. Cool. A gentle sedative and pain reliever, used for children and for sleeplessness with pain.
Wild Lettuce, Lactuca virosa, the latex and aerial parts. Cool, dry. The strong sedative of the group, for pain and sleeplessness, in small doses.
Kava, Piper methysticum, the root. Warm, dry. A muscle relaxant and anxiolytic of the Pacific adopted into Western practice; the liver injury that led to its withdrawal in Europe in the early 2000s is attributed largely to aerial parts, poor cultivars, and solvent extracts, and the water extract of the noble root is what is used now, never with alcohol or with drugs that burden the liver.
Cramp Bark, Viburnum opulus, the bark. Warm, dry. A relaxant of smooth muscle rather than mind, for cramps and the tension of the pelvis.

Nervine stimulants

The stimulants are few and are used sparingly, since most nervous exhaustion is worsened by them. Kola, Cola nitida; Tea, Camellia sinensis; Coffee, Coffea arabica; and Yerba Maté, Ilex paraguariensis, are the caffeine stimulants. Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, and Peppermint, Mentha piperita, are the aromatic stimulants for the dull head, and are also relaxants of the gut, which is why the categories are a map and not a wall.

The adaptogens

Ashwagandha, Withania somnifera; Eleuthero, Eleutherococcus senticosus; Rhodiola, Rhodiola rosea; Holy Basil, Ocimum tenuiflorum; and the ginsengs are adaptogens, plants that raise the body's tolerance of stress over months. They act through the endocrine system rather than the nerves directly and are given beside a nervine tonic, not instead of it, to the person whose exhaustion has gone deep. Ashwagandha is the same plant Ayurveda gives as a rasayana, and it carries the same interaction with thyroid medication and sedatives in either tradition.

Choosing among them

The herbalist matches the plant to the person: a warming relaxant for the cold and tense, a cooling one for the hot and agitated; a tonic where the trouble is depletion, a relaxant where it is tension, a sedative only where sleep itself is the problem. A formula usually leads with one tonic and supports it with one or two relaxants chosen for the tissue that holds the tension.