Materia Medica

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) — West Indian Lemongrass, Citronella Grass
A guide to Cymbopogon citratus covering lemongrass tea and food use, traditional herbal context, essential-oil differences and safety. Read more...
Cinnamomum verum (Cinnamon), realistic botanical photo
Ceylon Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) — True Cinnamon, Sweet Cinnamon
A guide to Cinnamomum verum covering Ceylon cinnamon, cassia differences, coumarin, culinary use, glucose research and safety. Read more...
Lovage (Levisticum officinale) — Sea Parsley, Love Parsley
A research-grounded guide to lovage (Levisticum officinale), covering culinary use, traditional urinary applications, coumarin chemistry, garden tradition, pregnancy cautions and photosensitivity. Read more...
Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana) — Knotted Marjoram, Garden Marjoram
A research-grounded guide to sweet marjoram (Origanum majorana), covering culinary use, traditional herbal history, phytochemistry, limited PCOS pilot research, essential-oil distinctions and safety. Read more...
Mustard (Brassica & Sinapis spp.) — Yellow Mustard, Brown Mustard, Black Mustard
A research-grounded guide to yellow/white, brown/Indian and black mustard seeds, covering species differences, culinary use, glucosinolate chemistry, traditional medicine, skin-burn risk and mustard allergy. Read more...
Savory (Satureja hortensis & Satureja montana) — Summer Savory, Winter Savory
Savory is not one single plant. Summer savory (Satureja hortensis) and winter savory (Satureja montana) are closely related culinary and traditional medicinal herbs with different growth habits, flavor profiles, and chemistry. This guide separates food use from concentrated extracts and essential-oil research, and reviews what human evidence actually exists. Read more...
Shiso (Perilla frutescens) — Perilla, Beefsteak Plant, Japanese Basil
Shiso is a culinary variety of Perilla frutescens, not a completely separate species. This guide separates shiso leaves from perilla seed oil and concentrated extracts, reviews East Asian food and herbal traditions, human allergy research, omega-3-rich seed oil, and the often-misunderstood livestock toxicity issue. Read more...
Editorial illustration labeled Common Sorrel and Rumex acetosa, showing arrow-shaped leaves and flowering stems
Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) — Garden Sorrel, Sour Grass
Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a tart perennial green. Explore identification, parts used and avoided, oxalate safety, three culinary recipes, history and modern folklore. Read more...
Spearmint (Mentha spicata) — Garden Mint, Lamb Mint
Spearmint is a carvone-rich culinary and medicinal mint with a long digestive tradition and several human trials, including research on androgen levels in women with PCOS and standardized extracts for memory and attention. This guide separates ordinary tea from concentrated extracts and essential oil. Read more...
Sumac (Rhus spp.) — Staghorn Sumac, Smooth Sumac, Sicilian Sumac
Sumac is not one single plant. Mediterranean culinary sumac comes mainly from Rhus coriaria, while North American smooth and staghorn sumacs have their own food and ethnobotanical traditions. This guide separates edible Rhus species from poison sumac, reviews modern human metabolic research, and covers identification, preparation and safety. Read more...
Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) — French Tarragon, Estragon
Tarragon is a classic culinary Artemisia with distinct French and Russian forms, a long digestive tradition, and limited but real human metabolic research. This guide explains its botany, flavor chemistry, estragole and methyleugenol safety concerns, and why culinary use is different from concentrated extracts and essential oil. Read more...
Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) — Flat-Leaved Vanilla, Bourbon Vanilla
Vanilla is the cured fruit of a climbing tropical orchid, not simply the flavor molecule vanillin. This guide covers Vanilla planifolia identity, pollination, curing, aroma chemistry, culinary use, traditional medicine, extract standards, allergy and occupational sensitivity, and conservation. Read more...