Air · sour · Cooling · astringent
It’s all about the thought or the idea. Freedom-loving. Responsible for moving fluids, gases, and nerve impulse through the body.
Protein, enzymes, neurotransmitters. All movement.
Brain, nervous system, lymph, lungs, shoulders, kidneys, bladder, lower back, legs, ankles, and circulation.
The taste
Sour is cooling and astringent. It draws and binds, thickens thin blood, starts saliva, and hydrates even as it tightens. Sour plants carry the antioxidants of fruit. They move mucous and support the lungs — large doses irritate. Lemon-family plants show up again and again in sinus cups.
Opposite: Sweet blood (Earth · sweet). Under illness a person may wear the opposite for a while — it is not the true taste of the house.
Traits
Excess
Nervine herbs and adaptogens. Looks like deficient earth.
Deficient
Herbs that steady blood sugar, and adaptogens. Get moving.
Citrus limon
The bright slice that finishes almost every stillroom cup.
Chill & congestion · Indigestion · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Mentha × piperita
The lift in the cupboard — head, belly, and a closed room.
Bloating · Indigestion · Headache
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Melissa officinalis
A lemon-leaf for a circling mind and a mild viral season.
Frayed nerves · Restless sleep · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Rosa canina
The autumn fruit of the rose — a sour pantry vitamin.
Chill & congestion · Hollow energy · Irritable skin
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Hibiscus sabdariffa
A crimson sour that drinks like a summer cooler and a winter tonic.
Feverish & flushed · Cold hands & sluggish blood · Dull focus
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Sambucus nigra
The June flower given at the first flush of a feverish cold.
Feverish & flushed · Chill & congestion · Cough
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Ocimum basilicum
The pesto leaf that also wakes a dull head and a cold meal.
Indigestion · Dull focus · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Coriandrum sativum
A citrus-seed that cools a hot spice blend and a hot belly.
Indigestion · Bloating · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Lavandula angustifolia
A little goes a long way — the pillow herb in the teacup.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Headache
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Mentha spicata
The sweeter mint — kinder to children and to a tender stomach.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Crataegus spp.
The sour heart-berry of the hedgerow — astringent, food-like, and long-used.
Cold hands & sluggish blood · Frayed nerves · Worriation
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Rubus idaeus
A mineral, tightening leaf — sour air for a heavy cycle or a loose bowel.
Crampy cycle · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Sambucus nigra
The deeper winter face of elder — a sour syrup on the pantry shelf.
Chill & congestion · Cough · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Rubus allegheniensis
A sour, tightening leaf for a loose bowel and a raw mouth.
Sore throat · Crampy cycle
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Viburnum opulus
The bark named for its job — a sour ease for a gripping cramp.
Crampy cycle · Indigestion
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Salix alba
The stream-bank bark for an ache — sour, drawing, old as a headache.
Headache · Stiff joints · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Hamamelis virginiana
A drawing tree — the stillroom’s wash for hot, loose tissue.
Irritable skin · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Prunus persica
The orchard leaf for a queasy, heated middle.
Nausea · Indigestion · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Rhus typhina
A lemonade from the hedge — sour, red, and cooling.
Feverish & flushed · Sore throat · Dryness
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Anethum graveolens
The pickle seed — a bright, green ease for a windy belly.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Borago officinalis
Star-flower — cucumber-cool, a lift for a heavy heart.
Frayed nerves · Feverish & flushed · Hollow energy
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Quercus robur
The strength tree — a world lives on one oak, and the bark draws.
Sore throat · Irritable skin
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Thymus citriodorus
Garden thyme with a lemon rind — roast herb and a bright steam.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Aloysia citrodora
The sharpest lemon leaf in the garden — a cup of crushed green citrus.
Frayed nerves · Indigestion · Dull focus
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Monarda didyma
Bee balm — the bergamot mint that was a cupboard tea.
Chill & congestion · Feverish & flushed · Closed sinuses
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Pelargonium graveolens
A rose that grows as a leaf — green, lemon, and petal in one crush.
Generally safe
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Artemisia dracunculus
Anise in a narrow leaf — the vinegar herb and a sharp kitchen green.
Indigestion
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Sanguisorba minor
Cucumber in a leaf — a salad herb that also makes a clean cup.
Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Tanacetum balsamita
Alecost — balsamic mint and lemon in a stillroom leaf.
Indigestion · Dull focus
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Cymbopogon citratus
Kitchen lemon in a grass — the brightest citrus pot after the fruit itself.
Feverish & flushed · Indigestion · Dull focus
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Ceanothus americanus
Liberty tea — a caffeine-free, slightly astringent cup from a roadside shrub.
Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Diospyros virginiana
A mild, leafy tea of the persimmon — not the fruit, the leaf.
Thin data
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Fragaria vesca
A delicate, fruity-leaf tea — the plant’s other gift besides the berry.
Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Gaultheria procumbens
The aspirin cousin that smells of a candy shop — a pinch, not a pot.
Caution
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Traditional kitchen and folk use only. This is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are pregnant, nursing, on medicine, or unwell, ask a clinician before drinking anything as a remedy.