Motherwort
Leonurus cardiaca
Aerial parts · cooling-bitter · steadying
Lion’s-tail — a bitter for a racing heart and a crampy womb.
In the mouth
How it tastes
Very bitter, leonurine-green. Honey is not optional.
Traditional use
The name is the teaching. Folk cups gave motherwort when the heart pounded from worriation, or when a cycle came in cramps and heat. Bitter, a little minty, unmistakably medicinal.
In the cup
1 tsp dried, steeped 10 minutes. Honey is almost required. A short course, not a pantry tea.
Blood
Bitter blood · bitter
Bitter is first hot, then cold. It speeds digestion, moves lymph and waste, wakes circulation, and calls bile from the gallbladder. As that hot, caustic bile travels, the body cools — which is why the old bitter cups were given for fever. Bitter is the strongest medicine in this tradition.
Read bitter bloodReached for
The promise
A careful hand
Some people, or a long pot, need extra care.
Avoid in pregnancy. Bitter enough to bother a tender stomach. Not for a very slow heart without a clinician.
Read the whole promiseSits well with
Hawthorn
Crataegus spp.
The sour heart-berry of the hedgerow — astringent, food-like, and long-used.
Cold hands & sluggish blood · Frayed nerves · Worriation
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
Chamomile
Matricaria chamomilla
The evening apple-scent that settles both belly and mind.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Bloating
Ground, build, and settle
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.