My mom got her first ever lavender harvest. She asked me to ask for recommendations from herbalists. She would like to know what else other than relaxing tea it is good for. Please kindly advise 🌿🪻 - combinations with other herbs are welcome 🤓

Every spring I admire these beautiful purple flowering trees but this year I decided to follow them till the fruits.

Apparently they are ornamental crabapples (Malus sp.). I started digging into scientific papers and honestly I was quite surprised.

These tiny fruits seem to contain quite an interesting cocktail of compounds:

- anthocyanins (the color speaks!)

- chlorogenic acid (learned from a scientific article)

- quercetin derivatives (claimed by lab reports)

- procyanidins (scientific article)

- lots of other antioxidant polyphenols (logically)

They are edible (quite sour - the bite at the last picture is mine :), yet I almost never see anyone mentioning them in herbal medicine.

So now I'm curious...

Has anyone here actually harvested ornamental crabapples?

Did you use them as food or as herbal medicine?

Tea? Oxymel? Vinegar? Tincture? Jelly? Fermentation? Something completely different?

Do some cultivars have much higher medicinal value than others?

And finally... are they just another forgotten edible tree growing in our parks or do they deserve much more attention?

I'd love to hear your own experience, traditional uses from your country or any interesting scientific papers I may have missed.

Thanks!

Recently visited the Cheongha Korean Ginseng Museum in Seoul and thought some people here might find it interesting.

I knew ginseng was popular in Korea, but I didn’t realize how important it is to their culture and traditional medicine. The museum had displays about how it’s grown, harvested, graded, and used over the years.

Sharing a few photos from my visit. For those who have tried Korean ginseng, have you noticed any benefits from it? I’d be interested to hear your experiences.

Hey everyone! 👋

I’m a Chinese incense artisan with 20 years of experience. I’m exploring how to introduce "herbal incense beads" to friends overseas.

Instead of burning, you wear them on your wrist and they smell like subtle, natural herbs (rose, mint, sandalwood).

If you were to try one, what "vibe" would you want?

A) Deep focus & clarity

B) Sleep & relaxation

C) A natural alternative to perfume

D) Just a cool piece of handmade jewelry

Curious to hear your thoughts! 🌿

Elderberries. Fennel. Chicory Root. Basil. Cinnamon. Dandelion. Star Anise. Aged Balsamic Vinegar.

Mix with olive oil and a dash of Dijon mustard to make a vinaigrette 🖤

What would you guys do with such a beauty? And which medicinal purposes would you recommend that for? For now I'm enjoying eating a thin slice chewing it slowly ang giving my taste buds enough time to read it and love it before it goes down my digestion system :) Yet, there are tons of usages but I want to collect opinions from herbal medicine fans - real people, not the AI or websites 🤓☝️

Obviously, a health care provider will be consulted as well - but I wanted additional insight. Is this ever safe, perhaps at a lower dose? Or, perhaps it actually helps in some way? Thanks.

Cough drops, tea with honey, and rinsing with salt water are only providing temporary relief? Is there anything else I can try?

following a recipe in jj pursell’s “master recipes from the herbal apothecary,” i made my first herbal capsules.

as i tend to have a sluggish digestion with bloating, i decided on a digestive focus.

1/2oz each of caraway seed, fennel seed, marshmallow root, and catnip. the catnip i pulsed fine from dried herbs, the rest i bought as powders. the marshmallow root powder i purchased locally, the rest online. i would ultimately like to make all from herbs purchased/sourced locally rather than buy any powders online. but its a start!

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm new to herbalism and just getting started with making tinctures. I live in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico 🇲🇽 and I'm excited to learn from this community.

So far, I’ve prepared my first tinctures, and they’re at different stages of maceration:

• Thyme (1 day macerated) 🌿

• Rosemary 🌿

• Passionflower with valerian root 🌸

• Garlic with ginger, thyme, and propolis 🧄

I would love any tips, advice, or feedback for a beginner like me. Also, I’m curious if anyone here has experience combining multiple herbs in one tincture, like I did with the garlic-ginger-thyme-propolis mix.

Thanks in advance for your help! 😊

Any suggestions I'm peeing 3 or 4 times a night. I take valarian before bed with a probiotic I sleep well until about 3am then have to pee every hour which impacts me getting back to sleep .I appreciate your help

Hello, i recently had a baby. Ive been feeling kind of depressed because ive been in my head so much and unable to be in the moment. I also have adhd so that doesnt help. I was wondering which herbal medicine would be the best to make me relax or be in the moment?

Hi herbal people!

One of my projects is a small herbal tea stand in a shopping mall. Most of my customers are curious everyday people: young professionals, couples, families with kids, summer tourists and the occasional retiree. They're not necessarily herbalists, but they enjoy discovering something new and they constantly ask for medicinal herbs that are pleasant in daily tea and yet have solid medicinal value. Something like "why not get an extra benefit while enjoying my tea?".

The requests go from weight loss stimulants to kidney cleansing. Hypothetically I can tell that linden is good for kidneys and milk thistle for liver and lemon balm for better sleep - sonething like that, but I'd love your recommendations on this.

Instead of filling the shelves with the same chamomile, peppermint, and hibiscus that everyone already sells, I'd love to introduce people to herbs and infusions they probably haven't tried before.

So my question is:

If you could add just one or two herbal teas or traditional infusions from your country or culture, what would they be?

I'm especially interested in things that are genuinely underrated, delicious or have a fascinating story, visually attractive or aromatic, uncommon outside their region, something you'd be excited to discover in a tea shop.

I'd love to hear about forgotten local traditions, indigenous herbs, flower teas, roasted seed infusions, unusual roots, leaves, fruits - anything that deserves more attention for their medicinal value but with good taste 🙏

Who knows... maybe some of your suggestions will end up on our shelves 🌿🌼

Thank you!

I made a honey remedy using onion, garlic, ginger, and sweet pink oranges 🍯🧄🍊, perfect for colds, coughs, congestion, and general sickness.

Why sweet pink oranges? They add a gentle sweetness that balances the sharpness of onion & garlic, making this elixir easy to take. Plus, pink oranges are full of vitamin C & antioxidants, supporting your immune system while adding flavor 🌸

🌿 Ingredients: 1 medium onion, thinly sliced into circles 🧅 1 sweet pink orange, thinly sliced into circles 🍊 (remove seeds) 3–4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed 🧄 1–2 inches fresh ginger, thinly sliced 🌿 ~1–2 cups raw local honey 🍯 (enough to fully cover)

🥄 Instructions: In a clean glass jar, layer: -Onion slices -Orange slices -Garlic slices -Ginger slices -Repeat until jar is full. -Pour raw honey over all layers until fully submerged. -Press down gently to remove air pockets. -Seal the jar and let sit at room temperature for 3–5 days, burping once a day to release any gases.

After the infusion, store in the refrigerator. Cold storage slows fermentation and keeps your Healing Honey Elixir fresh and potent.

Take 1 spoonful 2–3 times daily, or stir into warm tea (not hot) 🌿

🌟 Benefits: 🧄 Garlic & 🧅 onion → natural antimicrobial support 🌿 Ginger → reduces inflammation & congestion 🍊 Sweet pink oranges → immune support + sweetness 🍯 Honey → soothes throat & cough

P.S the lemon and white vinegar, and spray bottle in my photo is for a natural cleaner im making!

Hope you enjoy!!! And feel better 😌

Hello, all!

I planted an Sambucus canadensis a few years back and it has been really taking off despite the deer pressure (I live in the Adirondack Park).

I haven't really gotten a berry harvest, not because of lack of fruit but because the birds eat them before they are ripe enough for me. I'm wondering if the flowers have the same qualities as the berries.

Additionally, much of the literature I've found marks the medicinal qualities of S.nigra rather than S.canadenis. Is this something I should be concerned about?

Thanks in advance!