The cupboard
Kitchen herbs & spices
Filter by element or search a plant. Traditional kitchen and folk use — four tastes, not a clinic monograph.
15 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
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
Nettle
Urtica dioica
A green salt — the mineral broth of the hedgerow.
Stiff joints · Hollow energy · Irritable skin
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
Fenugreek
Trigonella foenum-graecum
Maple-scented seeds that cook like food and comfort like broth.
Hollow energy · Indigestion · Crampy cycle
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
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
The wound-wort and fever herb of the yard.
Feverish & flushed · Crampy cycle · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
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
Feverfew
Tanacetum parthenium
A small bitter leaf for a pounding head.
Headache · Feverish & flushed · Crampy cycle
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
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
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
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