The cupboard
Kitchen herbs & spices
Filter by element or search a plant. Traditional kitchen and folk use — four tastes, not a clinic monograph.
118 plants
Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The stillroom’s first answer to a cold belly or a coming chill.
Nausea · Indigestion · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Cayenne
Capsicum annuum
A pinch that sends heat to the rim of the body.
Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood · Stiff joints
Warm, move, and stimulate
Black pepper
Piper nigrum
The everyday spark that makes other spices land.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood
Warm, move, and stimulate
Cinnamon
Cinnamomum verum
Bark that smells like a warmed cupboard and acts like a slow fire.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood
Warm, move, and stimulate
Clove
Syzygium aromaticum
A bud used for a toothache and a winter pot alike.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Turmeric
Curcuma longa
The golden kitchen root of sore winters.
Stiff joints · Chill & congestion · Indigestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus
Remembrance in a needle — a head herb as much as a roast herb.
Dull focus · Headache · Cold hands & sluggish blood
Warm, move, and stimulate
Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
The chest herb that already lives in the spice jar.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Garlic
Allium sativum
The house charm that also went into the broth.
Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Sage
Salvia officinalis
A bitter leaf for a raw throat and a damp mouth.
Sore throat · Cough · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
The lawn weed that taught kitchens what bitter is for.
Indigestion · Puffiness · Hollow energy
Warm, move, and stimulate
Bay
Laurus nobilis
The soup leaf that quietly warms a heavy pot.
Indigestion · Bloating · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Nettle
Urtica dioica
A green salt — the mineral broth of the hedgerow.
Stiff joints · Hollow energy · Irritable skin
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Marshmallow
Althaea officinalis
The original marsh mallow — a slick coat for dry tissue.
Sore throat · Cough · Dryness
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Slippery elm
Ulmus rubra
A bark gruel for a throat or belly that feels scraped.
Sore throat · Dryness · Indigestion
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
The garnish that was once a draining green.
Puffiness · Indigestion
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Celery seed
Apium graveolens
A salty seed for a waterlogged, creaky body.
Puffiness · Stiff joints
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Oatstraw
Avena sativa
The mineral tea of a nervous system that has been spent.
Frayed nerves · Hollow energy · Irritable skin
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Plantain
Plantago major
The path-side leaf chewed for bee stings and brewed for raw tissue.
Irritable skin · Sore throat · Dryness
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Kelp
Laminaria spp.
The sea’s salt — a pinch in broth, not a bowl of tea.
Hollow energy · Puffiness
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Chamomile
Matricaria chamomilla
The evening apple-scent that settles both belly and mind.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Bloating
Ground, build, and settle
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
The after-dinner seed that lets wind leave quietly.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Ground, build, and settle
Cardamom
Elettaria cardamomum
A sweet, eucalyptus-green seed that finishes a heavy meal.
Indigestion · Bloating · Hollow energy
Ground, build, and settle
Licorice
Glycyrrhiza glabra
The blender’s root — it sweetens a harsh pot and soothes a raw throat.
Sore throat · Cough · Dryness
Ground, build, and settle
Fenugreek
Trigonella foenum-graecum
Maple-scented seeds that cook like food and comfort like broth.
Hollow energy · Indigestion · Crampy cycle
Ground, build, and settle
Oats
Avena sativa
Breakfast as medicine — the original nervine food.
Frayed nerves · Restless sleep · Hollow energy
Ground, build, and settle
Star anise
Illicium verum
One star that perfumes a whole pot of broth or tea.
Cough · Bloating · Chill & congestion
Ground, build, and settle
Holy basil
Ocimum tenuiflorum
Tulsi — the daily cup for a long, demanding season.
Frayed nerves · Chill & congestion · Dull focus
Ground, build, and settle
Calendula
Calendula officinalis
Pot marigold — the gardener’s skin flower, also a golden broth.
Irritable skin · Sore throat
Ground, build, and settle
Caraway
Carum carvi
The rye-bread seed that was also a wind-breaking tea.
Bloating · Indigestion
Ground, build, and settle
Lemon
Citrus limon
The bright slice that finishes almost every stillroom cup.
Chill & congestion · Indigestion · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Peppermint
Mentha × piperita
The lift in the cupboard — head, belly, and a closed room.
Bloating · Indigestion · Headache
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Lemon balm
Melissa officinalis
A lemon-leaf for a circling mind and a mild viral season.
Frayed nerves · Restless sleep · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Rosehip
Rosa canina
The autumn fruit of the rose — a sour pantry vitamin.
Chill & congestion · Hollow energy · Irritable skin
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Hibiscus
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
Elderflower
Sambucus nigra
The June flower given at the first flush of a feverish cold.
Feverish & flushed · Chill & congestion · Cough
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Basil
Ocimum basilicum
The pesto leaf that also wakes a dull head and a cold meal.
Indigestion · Dull focus · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
A citrus-seed that cools a hot spice blend and a hot belly.
Indigestion · Bloating · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
A little goes a long way — the pillow herb in the teacup.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Headache
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Spearmint
Mentha spicata
The sweeter mint — kinder to children and to a tender stomach.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Horseradish
Armoracia rusticana
A white fire in the root — it opens a closed head like a door kicked in.
Closed sinuses · Cough · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Nutmeg
Myristica fragrans
A sweet, warm grate for a restless night and a tight middle.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Indigestion
Ground, build, and settle
Allspice
Pimenta dioica
The berry that tastes like cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg in one jar.
Bloating · Indigestion · Crampy cycle
Warm, move, and stimulate
Sassafras
Sassafras albidum
A sweet woods root of the spring pot — and a modern caution.
Hollow energy · Irritable skin · Puffiness
Ground, build, and settle
Sarsaparilla
Smilax spp.
A sweet, earthy root of the old spring tonics.
Hollow energy · Irritable skin · Stiff joints
Ground, build, and settle
Mullein
Verbascum thapsus
The roadside torch — a lung leaf that coats and then lets the chest move.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Dryness
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
The wound-wort and fever herb of the yard.
Feverish & flushed · Crampy cycle · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Yellow dock
Rumex crispus
A taproot that goes to the clay — the bitter used for ‘thick blood’ and eruptive skin.
Irritable skin · Indigestion · Hollow energy
Warm, move, and stimulate
Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
The breakbone-fever herb — named for the ache, not for knitting bone.
Feverish & flushed · Chill & congestion · Stiff joints
Warm, move, and stimulate
Hawthorn
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
Raspberry leaf
Rubus idaeus
A mineral, tightening leaf — sour air for a heavy cycle or a loose bowel.
Crampy cycle · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Elderberry
Sambucus nigra
The deeper winter face of elder — a sour syrup on the pantry shelf.
Chill & congestion · Cough · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Burdock
Arctium lappa
A long taproot that goes to the clay — food first, blood-cleaner second.
Irritable skin · Hollow energy · Puffiness
Ground, build, and settle
Catnip
Nepeta cataria
A gentle bitter for a tight belly and a restless night.
Frayed nerves · Restless sleep · Feverish & flushed
Warm, move, and stimulate
Chicory
Cichorium intybus
The coffee-dark bitter that wakes a sluggish middle.
Indigestion · Hollow energy · Puffiness
Warm, move, and stimulate
Echinacea
Echinacea purpurea
The first-shiver cone-flower — a short, purposeful bitter.
Chill & congestion · Sore throat · Feverish & flushed
Warm, move, and stimulate
Feverfew
Tanacetum parthenium
A small bitter leaf for a pounding head.
Headache · Feverish & flushed · Crampy cycle
Warm, move, and stimulate
Hops
Humulus lupulus
The beer-bitter that puts a room to bed.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Indigestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Horehound
Marrubium vulgare
The old cough bitter — tastes like a dare, then the chest moves.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Motherwort
Leonurus cardiaca
Lion’s-tail — a bitter for a racing heart and a crampy womb.
Frayed nerves · Crampy cycle · Cold hands & sluggish blood
Warm, move, and stimulate
Red clover
Trifolium pratense
The meadow blossom in the old blood-and-skin jars.
Irritable skin · Hollow energy · Cough
Warm, move, and stimulate
Goldenseal
Hydrastis canadensis
Yellow root — the strongest bitter in many a cupboard, and the one to spend least.
Sore throat · Closed sinuses · Indigestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Elecampane
Inula helenium
A deep, camphor-bitter root for a chest that will not clear.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Indigestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Mugwort
Artemisia vulgaris
The dream-bitter — a pinch in the pillow or a short cup for a stuck cycle.
Crampy cycle · Indigestion · Restless sleep
Warm, move, and stimulate
Agrimony
Agrimonia eupatoria
A gentle bitter that also draws — belly, liver story, a loose bowel.
Indigestion · Irritable skin
Warm, move, and stimulate
Hyssop
Hyssopus officinalis
A resinous garden bitter for a tight, damp chest.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
A deep-rooted green salt — minerals from the clay, up into the leaf.
Hollow energy · Stiff joints · Puffiness
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Chickweed
Stellaria media
The cool spring mat — a water green for hot, dry, itchy skin.
Irritable skin · Dryness · Hollow energy
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Cleavers
Galium aparine
The sticky bedstraw — water’s lymph mover of the spring hedge.
Puffiness · Irritable skin · Hollow energy
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Corn silk
Zea mays
The pale threads from the ear — a gentle water for a complaining bladder.
Puffiness
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Horsetail
Equisetum arvense
A silica salt — the joint-and-tooth mineral of the ditch bank.
Stiff joints · Puffiness · Irritable skin
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Violet
Viola odorata
The heart-leaf of spring — a cool green for lymph and dry heat.
Cough · Irritable skin · Dryness
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
American ginseng
Panax quinquefolius
A sweet taproot for a spent, dry, overworked body.
Hollow energy · Dryness · Frayed nerves
Ground, build, and settle
Blackberry leaf
Rubus allegheniensis
A sour, tightening leaf for a loose bowel and a raw mouth.
Sore throat · Crampy cycle
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Cramp bark
Viburnum opulus
The bark named for its job — a sour ease for a gripping cramp.
Crampy cycle · Indigestion
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Willow
Salix alba
The stream-bank bark for an ache — sour, drawing, old as a headache.
Headache · Stiff joints · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Witch hazel
Hamamelis virginiana
A drawing tree — the stillroom’s wash for hot, loose tissue.
Irritable skin · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Peach leaf
Prunus persica
The orchard leaf for a queasy, heated middle.
Nausea · Indigestion · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Sumac
Rhus typhina
A lemonade from the hedge — sour, red, and cooling.
Feverish & flushed · Sore throat · Dryness
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Mustard seed
Brassica juncea
A kitchen fire for the chest plaster and the pot.
Chill & congestion · Cough · Stiff joints
Warm, move, and stimulate
Onion
Allium cepa
The everyday fire in the bin — broth, syrup, and a chest poultice.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Dill
Anethum graveolens
The pickle seed — a bright, green ease for a windy belly.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Angelica
Angelica archangelica
A tall bitter-aromatic of the garden — protection in the old notes, a belly fire in the pot.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion · Bloating
Warm, move, and stimulate
Borage
Borago officinalis
Star-flower — cucumber-cool, a lift for a heavy heart.
Frayed nerves · Feverish & flushed · Hollow energy
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Peony
Paeonia officinalis
Named for a healer. A garden bloom whose root was the old easing medicine.
Crampy cycle · Frayed nerves
Ground, build, and settle
Oak
Quercus robur
The strength tree — a world lives on one oak, and the bark draws.
Sore throat · Irritable skin
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Lad's love
Artemisia abrotanum
Southernwood — a moth-sachet bitter that smells of lemon-camphor.
Limit the cup
Warm, move, and stimulate
Lemon thyme
Thymus citriodorus
Garden thyme with a lemon rind — roast herb and a bright steam.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Lemon verbena
Aloysia citrodora
The sharpest lemon leaf in the garden — a cup of crushed green citrus.
Frayed nerves · Indigestion · Dull focus
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Life everlasting
Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
Sweet everlasting — maple-hay in the hand, a scenting herb of the field.
Limit the cup
Ground, build, and settle
Lovage
Levisticum officinale
The celery of the herb bed — one leaf seasons a whole pot.
Indigestion · Bloating
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Oswego tea
Monarda didyma
Bee balm — the bergamot mint that was a cupboard tea.
Chill & congestion · Feverish & flushed · Closed sinuses
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Patchouli
Pogostemon cablin
The earth-musk of the stillroom — a sachet leaf that ages into wine and soil.
Limit the cup
Ground, build, and settle
Rose geranium
Pelargonium graveolens
A rose that grows as a leaf — green, lemon, and petal in one crush.
Generally safe
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Sweet cicely
Myrrhis odorata
Anise in a ferny leaf — the old sweetener of a sour pot.
Indigestion
Ground, build, and settle
Sweet fern
Comptonia peregrina
Not a fern — a spice-bush of the sand, smelling of cinnamon and maple.
Limit the cup
Ground, build, and settle
Sweet marjoram
Origanum majorana
The sweeter sister of oregano — a mild kitchen spice for a quiet pot.
Indigestion
Ground, build, and settle
Sweet vernal grass
Anthoxanthum odoratum
The hay that smells of vanilla when the scythe has been through.
Limit the cup
Ground, build, and settle
Tarragon
Artemisia dracunculus
Anise in a narrow leaf — the vinegar herb and a sharp kitchen green.
Indigestion
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Wild vanilla
Carphephorus odoratissimus
A field leaf that smells of vanilla when it dies — a scenting herb, not a pod.
Limit the cup
Ground, build, and settle
Woodruff
Galium odoratum
Fresh it is quiet. Dried it is vanilla-hay — the May-wine leaf.
Limit the cup
Ground, build, and settle
Wood betony
Stachys officinalis
A mild bitter tea of the old nervine jars — tea-like, not harsh.
Frayed nerves · Headache · Indigestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Salad burnet
Sanguisorba minor
Cucumber in a leaf — a salad herb that also makes a clean cup.
Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Yaupon
Ilex vomitoria
Cassina — a holly tea with a clean caffeine lift.
Dull focus · Hollow energy
Warm, move, and stimulate
Costmary
Tanacetum balsamita
Alecost — balsamic mint and lemon in a stillroom leaf.
Indigestion · Dull focus
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Damiana
Turnera diffusa
A resinous, spicy leaf — a flavoring tea, not a long medicinal pot.
Frayed nerves · Hollow energy
Warm, move, and stimulate
Ground ivy
Glechoma hederacea
Alehoof — a mint-bitter of the lawn, used in a moderate pot.
Cough · Closed sinuses · Headache
Warm, move, and stimulate
Sweet goldenrod
Solidago odora
The goldenrod you can drink — anise in a late-summer leaf.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion
Ground, build, and settle
Labrador tea
Rhododendron groenlandicum
A northern resin cup — weak, rare, and respected.
Limit the cup
Warm, move, and stimulate
Lemongrass
Cymbopogon citratus
Kitchen lemon in a grass — the brightest citrus pot after the fruit itself.
Feverish & flushed · Indigestion · Dull focus
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Linden
Tilia spp.
Lime flower — honey and hay in a calming evening pot.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Feverish & flushed
Ground, build, and settle
New Jersey tea
Ceanothus americanus
Liberty tea — a caffeine-free, slightly astringent cup from a roadside shrub.
Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Persimmon leaf
Diospyros virginiana
A mild, leafy tea of the persimmon — not the fruit, the leaf.
Thin data
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Speedwell
Veronica officinalis
A mild bitter, tea-like herb of the old European jars.
Cough · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Strawberry leaf
Fragaria vesca
A delicate, fruity-leaf tea — the plant’s other gift besides the berry.
Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Tea
Camellia sinensis
The true tea — green, black, oolong, white. The pot most cupboards already know.
Dull focus
Warm, move, and stimulate
Wintergreen
Gaultheria procumbens
The aspirin cousin that smells of a candy shop — a pinch, not a pot.
Caution
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Yerba mate
Ilex paraguariensis
A holly tea of the south — earthy, grassy, caffeinated. Drink it warm, not scalding.
Dull focus · Hollow energy
Warm, move, and stimulate