The cupboard
Kitchen herbs & spices
Filter by element or search a plant. Traditional kitchen and folk use — four tastes, not a clinic monograph.
Air· sourSour 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.
3 plants
Rosehip
Rosa canina
The autumn fruit of the rose — a sour pantry vitamin.
Chill & congestion · Hollow energy · Irritable skin
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
Oak
Quercus robur
The strength tree — a world lives on one oak, and the bark draws.
Sore throat · Irritable skin
Brighten, circulate, and clear