So it never made sense to me why I might have an herb that has a certain property, but then if another player has that same herb it has different properties...sounds like a different herb, it's just in disguise!
Here is a suggestion:
Instead of herbs having different traits for different players, how about herbs have different traits based on the SERVER or the WORLD. So if I join one server, I have to discover all of the traits for different herbs or learn them from other players. If I join a different server, I can't just know what herbs I need to make things like flux. It keeps some of the surprise but makes more sense.