What is the body asking for?

Ashwagandha

Withania somnifera

Winter cherry root — an adaptogen for wired-and-tired nights, not a stimulant.

anxiety

Catnip

Nepeta cataria

A grey mint that sends cats sideways and, as a mild tea, settles people the other direction.

anxiety

Chamomile

Matricaria chamomilla

A small daisy used for centuries as an evening tea for restlessness and mild digestive cramp.

anxiety

Chaste tree

Vitex agnus-castus

A lilac-like Mediterranean shrub whose peppercorn berries are a cycle herb with a hormone reputation.

anxiety

Hawthorn

Crataegus monogyna

Hedgerow thorn whose leaf, flower, and berry are Europe's classic heart trophorestorative.

anxiety

Holy basil

Ocimum tenuiflorum

Tulsi — the daily adaptogen tea of Indian households, peppery and clarifying.

anxiety

Hops

Humulus lupulus

The beer flower — a bitter, estrogenic sedative that also climbs the shed.

anxiety

Kava

Piper methysticum

Pacific ceremonial root for social ease and muscle quiet — liver-safe only as traditional aqueous preparations.

anxiety

Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia

Silver-leaved Mediterranean shrub; the scent alone is a documented mild anxiolytic.

anxiety

Lemon balm

Melissa officinalis

Lemon-scented mint for fretful moods, a racing mind, and cold-sore lips.

anxiety

Lemon verbena

Aloysia citrodora

An Andean shrub that smells more of lemon than lemon does — a digestive and evening leaf.

anxiety

Linden

Tilia cordata

Heart-shaped leaves and a honey-bract blossom — the classic European calm-and-cold tea.

anxiety

Motherwort

Leonurus cardiaca

A bitter mint for a racing heart and a spinning mind — not a culinary leaf.

anxiety

Passionflower

Passiflora incarnata

A climbing vine with baroque flowers, used when the mind will not step off the wheel.

anxiety

Poria

Wolfiporia extensa

A buried pine fungus used in Chinese soups for dampness, gut, and calm — a sclerotium, not a mushroom cap.

anxiety

Psilocybe mushrooms

Psilocybe cubensis

A well-known psychoactive woodland and pasture genus, now in clinical trials for depression — still illegal to grow or possess in most places.

anxiety

Reishi

Ganoderma lucidum

The lacquered 'mushroom of immortality' — a bitter decoction for recovery, sleep, and immune tone.

anxiety

Rhodiola

Rhodiola rosea

Rose-root of the Arctic — an adaptogen for fatigue that can also overstimulate.

anxiety

Skullcap

Scutellaria lateriflora

A wetland mint for circular thinking — a nervine that wants the right species.

anxiety

St. John's wort

Hypericum perforatum

Sunshine-yellow roadside herb for low mood — famous, effective in mild cases, and a notorious interactor.

anxiety

Sweet basil

Ocimum basilicum

The pesto leaf — a cooling kitchen mint for digestion and summer nerves.

anxiety

Sweet marjoram

Origanum majorana

Oregano’s sweeter kitchen cousin — a tender Mediterranean mint for digestion and a quiet evening cup.

anxiety

Valerian

Valeriana officinalis

Foul-sweet root used as a non-habit-forming night herb — strong, uneven, not for everyone.

anxiety