Nature and fertility: Where plants and our reproductive health collide

Globally, out of the 874 million women using modern contraceptive methods, around 16% choose the pill. But did you know that it’s plants we have to thank for it?

Throughout history, people have repeatedly turned to nature to boost fertility, aid in contraception and terminate pregnancy. Some approaches have been safe while others have been downright deadly.

1. Mandrakes

Mandrakes, typically meaning plants in the genus Mandragora, belong to the nightshade family – the same group as potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines and belladonna. Their chunky roots sometimes have a human-like shape to them, which might be why, long ago, they became associated with fertility.

They’re an example of the Doctrine of Signatures. This was a pre-modern medical theory that a plant’s resemblance to human organs was a sign that it could be used to treat that part of the body. For example, following this theory, brain-like walnuts might be used to try to cure headaches.

This idea of looking for divine signs has been around since ancient times but was particularly popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Historically, mandrakes were kept as talismans and used in concoctions to treat infertility. They’re not the only talisman linked to reproduction. Geodes – rocks with mineral-lined cavities in them – known as eaglestones used to be worn to protect women against miscarriages and to speed up birth. But mandrakes have a more sinister side than geodes. They produce an alkaloid called hyoscine that, in large enough doses, can cause hallucinations and delirium and even result in coma. A hyoscine-producing mandrake relative may even have been used to commit murder.

In the past, mandrakes have also been associated with witchcraft. During her trial for heresy – holding a belief that goes against a particular religion – Joan of Arc was accused of possessing a mandrake root, which would have proven her sorcery. At different points in history, female midwives, herbalists and healers were also often accused of being witches.

As a result, we may have lost a lot of knowledge about botanical fertility. Specific plants, such as mugwort, as well as medical specialisms, such as reproductive health, became associated with witchcraft and as a result were often avoided.

2. Peacock flower

Contraceptives – substances that prevent pregnancy – and abortifacients – substances that terminate pregnancy – are part of good reproductive healthcare. They not only help with family planning and health, they also give women bodily autonomy.

This fundamental human right isn’t guaranteed worldwide, even today. In 2022, for example, the overturning of the Roe v Wade legal ruling reshaped the abortion care landscape across the USA. Just prior to that, a 2021 United Nations Population Fund study found that globally only 55% of women and girls are able to make decisions over their healthcare, contraception and having sex.

In places and times of oppression, women have turned to contraception and abortion as a form of resistance. For example, during the transatlantic trade of enslaved people, enslaved women used their botanical knowledge to fight back against the violent system that profited from their reproductive capacities.

We see this in an account from seventeenth-century scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian. Maria, a divorced woman, travelled to Suriname in South America to document the country’s nature, accompanied only by her daughter.

There she encountered enslaved women who, rather than see their children born into slavery, were choosing abortion. According to Maria, they used the peacock flower, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, to abort their pregnancies. It was also taken by some to commit suicide, as a direct result of enslavement and sexual exploitation.

“The Indians, who are not treated well by their Dutch masters, use the seeds to abort their children, so that they will not become slaves like themselves… In fact, they sometimes take their own lives because they are treated so badly, and because they believe they will be born again, free and living in their own land. They told me this themselves,” Maria reports.

Research on the peacock flower’s properties shows it only takes a few grammes of the plant to induce an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. More recent lab studies have shown it prevents egg implantation in mice.

Read more about the links between slavery and the natural world.

3. Yams

Around 16% of women use the pill as their primary contraceptive. There are two main kinds of pill. The combined oral contraceptive contains the hormones oestrogen and progestin, which is synthesised progesterone, whereas the ‘minipill’ contains only progestin. Both hormones are integral to reproduction.

While human-made hormones have always been ingredients in hormonal birth control, they’re actually derived from natural sources, such as from wild yams in the genus Dioscorea.

In 1941, American chemist Russell Marker worked out how to convert a compound called diosgenin found in yams into synthetic hormones, including progesterone. From there, the development of hormonal birth control began, though it faced numerous setbacks.

Eventually in the 1950s, a high-dose progesterone pill was approved by the USA’s Food and Drug Administration for treating severe menstrual disorders. Known by the brand name Enovid, it was later approved for use as a contraceptive too. By 1965, more than five million women were taking Enovid – however, it wasn’t until 1972 that it could legally be prescribed to unmarried women.

On the other side of the Atlantic, in the early 1960s, the pill became available on the NHS in the UK. Here it was known as Conovid but its use was short lived. Conovid was removed from the European market by the end of the decade due to severe and deadly blood clots. For similar reasons, Enovid stopped being used in the USA in 1988.

Since then, things have changed. Alongside other innovations, levels of hormones in birth control pills have been lowered, providing better options for women around the world. But if it wasn’t for yams, we might not have anything at all.

4. Silphium

Silphium is a mysterious birth control botanical. Ancient Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder describes laser – the resin derived from it – as “one of the most precious gifts presented to us by Nature”.

It allegedly had a variety of uses, including as an aphrodisiac, contraceptive and abortifacient.

Silphium was an export of the North African city of Cyrene, in modern-day Libya. It reportedly grew in the largest amounts near the Gulf of Syrtis – now the Gulf of Sidra – in a region of hilly, forested meadows. Silphium was critical to the economy and even appeared on Cyrenaic coins.

However, silphium is thought to have gone extinct between the first and fifth century. In fact, it may be the first plant extinction to occur in recorded history. Overharvesting, overgrazing and desertification are among the theories for what caused its demise – although there are some that believe it may still be alive somewhere.

But alive or extinct, without specimens it’s impossible to know exactly what silphium was or whether there’s any truth to its birth control capabilities.

5. Rubber tree

Around 21% of women rely on condoms as their main form of contraception. This barrier method is 98% effective at preventing pregnancy when used correctly and prevents against contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

In the past condoms were made from a variety of materials, including animal intestines, linen, silk paper, leather and even tortoiseshell. Today, most are made from latex, with a few other materials available.

Natural latex, used to make natural rubber by drying and processing, is typically tapped from trees such as Hevea brasiliensis. Latex is part of the plant’s natural defence system against herbivores and pathogens.

We’ve been using rubber for thousands of years, but its applications in birth control are relatively recent.

In the 1830s, vulcanized rubber condoms were introduced. They were generally cheaper than other options and reusable – although they cracked and broke with repeated use. Latex condoms, which are single use, were introduced around a century later. However, it wasn’t until the 1980s that they became more widely used due to risk posed by AIDS, cases of which were on the rise.

Other methods of contraception, such as the diaphragm and the earlier ‘womb veil’, made use of rubber too. While all rubber was initially derived from natural sources, in the nineteenth century, demand for the material for industry was high, which drove the creation of synthetic rubber as an alternative.

6. Queen Anne’s lace

People have been using Queen Anne’s lace, also known as wild carrot, in traditional medicine for more than 2,000 years. Depending on when and where in the world you look, it’s been used not only for controlling fertility but to treat a host of other issues.

The ancient Greeks and Romans name it as an abortifacient as well as an emmenagogue – a substance that promotes menstruation. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal, a comprehensive guide first published in England in 1653, notes it for pro- and anti-fertility effects. In India, it’s been traditionally used as an abortifacient, an aphrodisiac, for uterine pain and to regulate menstruation, particularly in Ayurvedic medicine. This is an ancient system focused on finding balance in the mind, body and spirit to promote health and wellness.

Many other plants are used in the traditional medicine practices of cultures and communities around the world for their perceived fertility and antifertility effects.

For example, in Lesotho, a number of plants have been traditionally used to treat STIs. In 2019, a study looking at 34 of these medicinal plants found that, for example, Bulbine succulents show some antimicrobial activity against the bacteria that causes gonorrhea, an STI that can lead to infertility.

Traditional medicine and Indigenous knowledge have often been the backbone of drug discovery.

7. Pennyroyal

Numerous plants, such as hellebore, rue and savin, mentioned in early writings on birth control and abortion came with extreme risk, from severe illness to potential death. While these plants may trigger abortions, they’re not a targeted treatment and are generally toxic to the whole body.

Another example is pennyroyal. Its use in birth control was so well known in the past that ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes even jokes about it in his play Lysistrata. The comedy’s plot centres on women who go on a sex strike to force their husbands to end the Peloponnesian War.

Pennyroyal is toxic to people, to the point of organ failure and death. Yet it appears in several texts spanning thousands of years. Even Benjamin Franklin, one of the USA’s Founding Fathers, suggests pennyroyal in his 1748 manual The American Instructor, alongside bellyache root, which is another abortifacient.

Despite its known toxicity, in the last century, at least two pregnant women have died after self-administering pennyroyal to induce abortion. Now, horrifyingly, in the wake of Roe v Wade being overturned in the USA, Rolling Stone magazine reports that pennyroyal became one of several potentially deadly herbs being recommended for DIY herbal abortions by some on social media.

8. Raspberry

Raspberry leaf tea is often touted for bringing on and shortening labour. But despite how often it’s recommended across the internet, there’s limited understanding of its efficacy. In fact, the Committee of Toxicity, a scientific advisory board in the UK, concludes that while the risks for taking it are likely low, there’s high uncertainty because there’s not been enough studies.

You’ll find a host of other fertility ‘hacks’ online, particularly across social media. Numerous influencers can be found promoting nature-based supplements to their followers. The problem is there can be a lack of scientific proof behind their advice. In fact, a 2025 study found that out of 100 TikToks featuring contraceptive-related hashtags, just 10% were created by medical professionals. Overall, the authors’ assessment of the content was that there was a “prominent presence of contraceptive health misinformation”. Collectively, the videos studied had almost five billion views.

Fertility advice spread through social media can be intensely powerful. Anyone can publish anything, regardless of accuracy, and reach millions of people in an instant. As we scroll, we should be conscious of how much oversight there really is over what’s being posted online. Paid promotions aren’t always clearly disclosed, for example.

To be confident in a botanical’s safety and abilities, we need good quality data from scientific studies – not personal anecdotes – and you should always consult your doctor for advice before starting on any supplements.

With health advice online, it’s best to approach it from a place of healthy skepticism, remembering that correlation isn’t causation and just because something is ‘natural’, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you.