No. 01
European
Chamomile
Matricaria chamomilla
Small apple-scented daisies that have earned a place in nearly every cottage garden and kitchen tin.
Read more about ChamomilePinned specimens
Herb Library
The plants kept on hand — what they look like, when they’re at their best, and what they’re traditionally reached for.
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Showing all 38 herbs.
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No. 02European
Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
Silvery stems topped with dense violet spikes, carried in from Mediterranean hillsides centuries ago.
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No. 03European
Calendula
Calendula officinalis
The bright orange pot marigold that keeps flowering long after everything else in the bed has finished.
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No. 04European
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Feathery foliage under flat-topped flower clusters, named after Achilles in the old herbals.
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No. 05European
Elderflower & Elderberry
Sambucus nigra
One shrub, two harvests — creamy flower umbels in June, then dark berries by September.
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No. 06European
Nettle
Urtica dioica
It stings fresh and forgives completely once cooked or dried, and it’s the earliest green of the spring garden.
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No. 07European
Peppermint
Mentha × piperita
Sharp, cooling, and nearly impossible to get rid of once it’s in the ground — in the best way.
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No. 08European
Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus
“Rosemary for remembrance” — the one herb on this list that never fully dies back by the hearth.
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No. 09Native North American
Echinacea
Echinacea angustifolia & E. purpurea
The purple coneflower of the Great Plains, whose root makes the tongue tingle.
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No. 10Native North American
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Shaggy lavender pompoms with a spicy, oregano-like scent, and a favorite of bees.
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No. 11Native North American
Staghorn Sumac
Rhus typhina
Fuzzy red cones of sour berries, steeped cold into a pink “lemonade” across the continent.
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No. 12Native North American
Wild Rose Hips
Rosa woodsii, R. arkansana & kin
Scarlet fruit left on wild roses after the petals fall, and one of the richest wild sources of vitamin C.
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No. 13Native North American
Goldenrod
Solidago canadensis & kin
Plumes of gold at the end of summer, unfairly blamed for the hay fever that ragweed causes.
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No. 14Native North American
Wintergreen
Gaultheria procumbens
Glossy evergreen leaves and red winter berries that taste like the gum named after them.
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No. 15Desert Southwest & Mexico
Prickly Pear
Opuntia engelmannii & O. ficus-indica
Paddle-shaped cactus with magenta fruit, eaten as nopales and tunas from Sonora to Mexico City.
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No. 16Desert Southwest & Mexico
Mesquite
Prosopis velutina
The desert’s bread tree: sweet pods ground into flour for thousands of years.
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No. 17Desert Southwest & Mexico
Yerba Mansa
Anemopsis californica
A white-bracted flower of desert springs and riverbanks, with a spicy, medicinal-smelling root.
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No. 18Desert Southwest & Mexico
Chiltepin
Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum
The wild “mother of all peppers,” a tiny red berry that grows under mesquite in Southern Arizona.
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No. 19Desert Southwest & Mexico
Epazote
Dysphania ambrosioides
A pungent, love-it-or-hate-it weed that belongs in every pot of Mexican black beans.
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No. 20Desert Southwest & Mexico
Jamaica (Roselle)
Hibiscus sabdariffa
Tart crimson calyces steeped into agua de jamaica, the ruby drink of every Mexican taquería.
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No. 21East Asian
Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The warming root of a thousand kitchens, from Korean teas to English gingerbread.
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No. 22East Asian
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum morifolium
Small golden autumn flowers steeped into the clear, honey-scented tea of Chinese teahouses.
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No. 23East Asian
Goji
Lycium barbarum
Small scarlet berries from Ningxia, simmered into soups and teas in Chinese kitchens.
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No. 24East Asian
Jujube
Ziziphus jujuba
The Chinese red date: crisp as an apple when fresh, sweet as a date when dried.
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No. 25East Asian
Shiso (Perilla)
Perilla frutescens
The ruffled green and purple leaf that colors umeboshi and wraps Korean barbecue.
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No. 26East Asian
Licorice
Glycyrrhiza glabra & G. uralensis
The “sweet root” and “national elder” of Chinese medicine, fifty times sweeter than sugar.
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No. 27South Asian
Turmeric
Curcuma longa
The golden root of Indian kitchens, wedding pastes, and household first aid.
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No. 28South Asian
Holy Basil (Tulsi)
Ocimum tenuiflorum
The sacred basil grown in Indian courtyards, with a clove-like scent and a daily cup of tea.
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No. 29South Asian
Cardamom
Elettaria cardamomum
The “queen of spices”: small green pods from the hills of Kerala that perfume chai and Nordic buns.
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No. 30South Asian
Fenugreek
Trigonella foenum-graecum
Bitter golden seeds that smell of maple syrup, and fresh leaves cooked as methi in Indian kitchens.
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No. 31South Asian
Curry Leaf
Murraya koenigii (Bergera koenigii)
Glossy aromatic leaves that crackle in hot oil at the start of South Indian cooking.
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No. 32South Asian
Ashwagandha
Withania somnifera
The “smell of a horse” root of Ayurveda, prized as a restorative tonic for three thousand years.
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No. 33East Asian
Dang Gui
Angelica sinensis
The fragrant root Chinese kitchens simmer into winter soups, known in the West as dong quai.
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No. 34East Asian
San Qi (Tienchi Ginseng)
Panax notoginseng
The “worth more than gold” root of Yunnan, the classic Chinese herb for bleeding and bruises.
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No. 35East Asian
Safflower
Carthamus tinctorius
A thistle-like dye plant from Pharaohs’ garlands, and a bruise herb in Chinese medicine.
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No. 36East Asian
Astragalus
Astragalus mongholicus
The “yellow leader” of Chinese tonics, simmered by the handful into soups and broths.
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No. 37Arabia & East Africa
Myrrh
Commiphora myrrha
The bitter red-brown resin of the Horn of Africa, used for three thousand years on wounds and sore gums.
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No. 38Arabia & East Africa
Frankincense
Boswellia sacra
The milky resin of the incense trade, burned in temples for millennia and chewed in Oman today.
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