Cleavers
Galium aparine
Fresh aerial parts · cooling · moving
The sticky bedstraw — water’s lymph mover of the spring hedge.
In the mouth
How it tastes
Green, cucumber-watery, a faint bitterness when strong.
Traditional use
Folk spring tonic. A cool infusion when glands felt swollen and the body held winter damp. Best fresh; the dried herb loses much of its character.
In the cup
A handful of fresh herb, chopped, covered in cold water 4–8 hours, then strained. Drink cool.
Blood
Salty blood · salt
Salt is cooling and barely a taste. These plants dry first, then move fluid — and water follows. They are mineral salts, not table salt: building, coating to sensitive membranes, thinning stuck mucous, supporting kidneys and the kreb-cycle minerals of muscle and nerve.
Read salty bloodReached for
The promise
A careful hand
Ordinary tea for a healthy adult.
Fresh plant is the tradition. May increase urination. Not a substitute for a swollen gland that needs a clinician.
Read the whole promiseSits well with
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
Nettle
Urtica dioica
A green salt — the mineral broth of the hedgerow.
Stiff joints · Hollow energy · Irritable skin
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Red clover
Trifolium pratense
The meadow blossom in the old blood-and-skin jars.
Irritable skin · Hollow energy · Cough
Warm, move, and stimulate
Traditional kitchen and folk use only. This is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are pregnant, nursing, on medicine, or unwell, ask a clinician before drinking anything as a remedy.