Open Source Apothecary At Home / The herbs
The herbs
One page per plant: what it does, the evidence for it, how to prepare it, and how to grow it
The pharmacopoeia: one page for each plant, and the same shape every time. What it is used for and what the trials actually show — including where they show nothing. How to prepare it, with the one or two method details that decide whether it works at all. How to grow it, condensed to the facts specific to that plant, with the method and the reasoning kept in the growing section so neither page repeats the other. And the safety: interactions, who must not use it, and the red flags that mean a plant is the wrong answer entirely. Several entries here conclude that a popular herb does not work, or does something quite different from what it is sold for; that is the point of the section.
40 entries
Aloe vera
Two different medicines in one plant, and only one of them should go on your skin. — Aloe vera
remedyAshwagandha
A genuine stress-study herb with a real, if uncommon, liver and thyroid signal. — Withania somnifera
remedyAstragalus
The immune herb sold hardest and tested least. Useful to know as the archetype of the traditional remedy with a modern marketing problem. — Astragalus membranaceus
remedyCalendula
The best first garden project in this handbook — a flower for topical use you can grow and use in one season. — Calendula officinalis
remedyChamomile
The most-drunk herbal tea in the world, with real evidence for sleep and for gut spasm. — Matricaria chamomilla
remedyCinnamon
A spice with blood-sugar evidence — and a coumarin problem that decides which cinnamon you buy. — Cinnamomum verum, C. cassia
remedyDandelion
A free vegetable and a genuine diuretic — with a real interaction to be careful about. — Taraxacum officinale
remedyEchinacea
Two to three years to grow, and a real but modest effect on the common cold. — Echinacea purpurea, E. angustifolia
remedyElderberry
Native, fast, tolerant of wet ground — and poisonous if you get the berries wrong. — Sambucus nigra, S. canadensis
remedyFennel
The colic herb with real infant trials — and the one you should not give to an infant without asking. — Foeniculum vulgare
remedyFenugreek
A seed with real blood-sugar and lactation evidence, and a strong smell. — Trigonella foenum-graecum
remedyGarlic
The easiest real medicine to grow, with trial evidence for blood pressure — and a handling detail that decides its activity. — Allium sativum
remedyGinger
Real trial evidence for nausea — the most useful kitchen rhizome in the handbook. — Zingiber officinale
remedyGinkgo
The most studied herb for memory — and the one whose large trials failed. Worth learning precisely because it is the clearest case of a promising observational signal that did not survive testing. — Ginkgo biloba
remedyHawthorn
Genuine heart-failure trial evidence — as an adjunct, never as a replacement. — Crataegus monogyna, C. laevigata
remedyHoly basil (tulsi)
An adaptogen with modest trial evidence, and one of the easiest aromatic plants to grow in a pot. — Ocimum tenuiflorum
remedyLemon balm
A gentle calming herb with real trials, and the best first plant for a nervous beginner's garden. — Melissa officinalis
remedyLicorice
Genuinely effective for several things, and the herb most likely to raise your blood pressure. — Glycyrrhiza glabra
remedyMarshmallow
A mucilage herb for irritated throats and gut — gentle, soothing, and genuinely demulcent. — Althaea officinalis
remedyMilk thistle
The liver herb that does not work — and a genuinely interesting plant to grow anyway. — Silybum marianum
remedyMullein
The great roadside respiratory herb — the leaf for the chest, the flower for the ear. — Verbascum thapsus
remedyNettle
Abundant, free, nutritionally dense — and the root is a different medicine from the leaf. — Urtica dioica
remedyOregano
Carvacrol-rich, antimicrobial in the dish and in the tube — and not an antibiotic. — Origanum vulgare
remedyPassionflower
Real trial evidence for anxiety, and a genuinely beautiful native vine. — Passiflora incarnata
remedyPeppermint
The most useful gut herb in the kitchen — and the one whose useful form is not the tea. — Mentha x piperita
remedyPlantain
The poultice herb growing in your lawn, with real topical evidence and a genuinely useful sting remedy. — Plantago major, P. lanceolata
remedyRhodiola
The cold-climate adaptogen with the best geographical fit and the weakest evidence. Honest entry: it grows beautifully here and the trials are small. — Rhodiola rosea
remedyRose
High in vitamin C, lovely to grow, and the source of the classic infused oil. — Rosa rugosa and others
remedyRosemary
A memory herb with thin evidence, a genuinely excellent culinary herb, and a marginal plant in this climate. — Salvia rosmarinus
remedySage
A throat gargle with small trials, a memory herb with weaker ones, and a genuinely potent kitchen plant. — Salvia officinalis
remedySkullcap
A traditional nervine whose safety record is complicated by a case of adulteration. — Scutellaria lateriflora
remedySlippery elm
A soothing inner-bark mucilage — and a plant whose wild supply is under real pressure. — Ulmus rubra
remedySpearmint
Milder than peppermint, and the one with a genuinely surprising clinical result. — Mentha spicata
remedySt John's wort
Effective for mild to moderate depression in trials — and the longest drug-interaction list in the herbal pharmacopoeia. — Hypericum perforatum
remedyThyme
A kitchen herb with a real antimicrobial reputation — and the honest version of that reputation. — Thymus vulgaris
remedyTurmeric
A genuine anti-inflammatory with a formulation problem — and a rare liver risk at high doses. — Curcuma longa
remedyValerian
The classic sleep herb, two years to a crop, and mixed trial results worth knowing before you plant. — Valeriana officinalis
remedyViolet
The gentlest plant in this handbook — a mild edible green, and a demulcent on evidence from tradition alone. — Viola odorata, V. sororia
remedyWillow
Where aspirin came from — with aspirin's risks, plus more. — Salix alba, S. fragilis
remedyYarrow
The traditional wound herb — and the one whose internal use needs the most care. — Achillea millefolium
remedyThe plates
Every plant in the pharmacopoeia, drawn from its leaf, flower and root form.
Aloe veraAshwagandha
Withania somniferaAstragalus
Astragalus membranaceusCalendula
Calendula officinalisChamomile
Matricaria chamomillaCinnamon
Cinnamomum verum, C. cassiaDandelion
Taraxacum officinaleEchinacea
Echinacea purpurea, E. angustifoliaElderberry
Sambucus nigra, S. canadensisFennel
Foeniculum vulgareFenugreek
Trigonella foenum-graecumGarlic
Allium sativumGinger
Zingiber officinaleGinkgo
Ginkgo bilobaHawthorn
Crataegus monogyna, C. laevigataHoly basil (tulsi)
Ocimum tenuiflorumLemon balm
Melissa officinalisLicorice
Glycyrrhiza glabraMarshmallow
Althaea officinalisMilk thistle
Silybum marianumMullein
Verbascum thapsusNettle
Urtica dioicaOregano
Origanum vulgarePassionflower
Passiflora incarnataPeppermint
Mentha x piperitaPlantain
Plantago major, P. lanceolataRhodiola
Rhodiola roseaRose
Rosa rugosa and othersRosemary
Salvia rosmarinusSage
Salvia officinalisSkullcap
Scutellaria laterifloraSlippery elm
Ulmus rubraSpearmint
Mentha spicataSt John's wort
Hypericum perforatumThyme
Thymus vulgarisTurmeric
Curcuma longaValerian
Valeriana officinalisViolet
Viola odorata, V. sororiaWillow
Salix alba, S. fragilisYarrow
Achillea millefolium