The cupboard
Kitchen herbs & spices
Filter by element or search a plant. Traditional kitchen and folk use — four tastes, not a clinic monograph.
21 plants
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
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
Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
A citrus-seed that cools a hot spice blend and a hot belly.
Indigestion · Bloating · Feverish & flushed
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
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
The wound-wort and fever herb of the yard.
Feverish & flushed · Crampy cycle · Chill & congestion
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
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
Catnip
Nepeta cataria
A gentle bitter for a tight belly and a restless night.
Frayed nerves · Restless sleep · Feverish & flushed
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
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
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
Borage
Borago officinalis
Star-flower — cucumber-cool, a lift for a heavy heart.
Frayed nerves · Feverish & flushed · Hollow energy
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Oswego tea
Monarda didyma
Bee balm — the bergamot mint that was a cupboard tea.
Chill & congestion · Feverish & flushed · Closed sinuses
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Salad burnet
Sanguisorba minor
Cucumber in a leaf — a salad herb that also makes a clean cup.
Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
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