Mullein
Verbascum thapsus
Leaf; flower oil is another preparation · cooling · coating · opening
The roadside torch — a lung leaf that coats and then lets the chest move.
In the mouth
How it tastes
Mild, tea-like, slightly sweet and mucilaginous. Strain the fuzz.
Traditional use
Leaf tea for a dry or stuck cough; flower oil for an earache. Water’s work: it sheathes the membrane, then the cough can finish its job.
In the cup
1 tsp dried leaf, steeped 10 minutes, strained through cloth (the fine hairs scratch). Honey after. Flower oil is a separate, strained preparation.
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.
Strain well. Leaf tea is the tradition. Seeds are not tea. Ear oil never goes in a leaking eardrum.
Read the whole promiseSits well with
Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
The chest herb that already lives in the spice jar.
Cough · Chill & congestion · Sore throat
Warm, move, and stimulate
Marshmallow
Althaea officinalis
The original marsh mallow — a slick coat for dry tissue.
Sore throat · Cough · Dryness
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Garlic
Allium sativum
The house charm that also went into the broth.
Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood · Sore throat
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.