The Archive
Medicinal
All medicines are poisons in the right dose. All poisons are medicines in the right hands. These plants heal — carefully, knowledgeably, with respect for the line.
10 specimens
Full Index A–Z →Belladonna
Atropa belladonna
The beautiful lady who grants visions — and silence.
Elder
Sambucus nigra
Guardian of the threshold between worlds.
Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
The heart that heals you can also be the hand that stops yours.
Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna
You may rest beneath it. You may not cut it down.
Henbane
Hyoscyamus niger
The smell of it alone is a warning. Few plants are this honest.
Mugwort
Artemisia vulgaris
Before all other herbs, remember mugwort.
Mullein
Verbascum thapsus
The hag's taper — torch of the cunning, lung of the meadow.
Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
Courage, passage, and the smell of the hills above the sea.
Wood Betony
Betonica officinalis
A quiet guardian with a long memory.
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
The soldier's herb — where blood flows, yarrow follows.