The cupboard
Kitchen herbs & spices
Filter by element or search a plant. Traditional kitchen and folk use — four tastes, not a clinic monograph.
26 plants
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
Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
The lawn weed that taught kitchens what bitter is for.
Indigestion · Puffiness · Hollow energy
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
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
Kelp
Laminaria spp.
The sea’s salt — a pinch in broth, not a bowl of tea.
Hollow energy · Puffiness
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
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
Holy basil
Ocimum tenuiflorum
Tulsi — the daily cup for a long, demanding season.
Frayed nerves · Chill & congestion · Dull focus
Ground, build, and settle
Rosehip
Rosa canina
The autumn fruit of the rose — a sour pantry vitamin.
Chill & congestion · Hollow energy · Irritable skin
Brighten, circulate, and clear
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
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
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
Chicory
Cichorium intybus
The coffee-dark bitter that wakes a sluggish middle.
Indigestion · Hollow energy · Puffiness
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
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
American ginseng
Panax quinquefolius
A sweet taproot for a spent, dry, overworked body.
Hollow energy · Dryness · Frayed nerves
Ground, build, and settle
Borage
Borago officinalis
Star-flower — cucumber-cool, a lift for a heavy heart.
Frayed nerves · Feverish & flushed · Hollow energy
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Yaupon
Ilex vomitoria
Cassina — a holly tea with a clean caffeine lift.
Dull focus · Hollow energy
Warm, move, and stimulate
Damiana
Turnera diffusa
A resinous, spicy leaf — a flavoring tea, not a long medicinal pot.
Frayed nerves · Hollow energy
Warm, move, and stimulate
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