Find a plant by how you feel

Almond mushroom

Agaricus subrufescens

A Brazilian button mushroom that smells of almond — food first, immune-glucan folklore second.

low immunity

Amla

Phyllanthus emblica

Indian gooseberry — a sour, tannic fruit that Ayurveda treats as a rasayana, and that kitchens pickle in sugar and spice.

low immunity

Astragalus

Astragalus mongholicus

A northern Chinese milkvetch root simmered for months of recovery — not an acute cold rescue.

low immunity

Blueberry

Vaccinium corymbosum

An eastern acid-soil berry with a bloom on the skin — a pie fruit that will not grow in lime.

low immunity

Cordyceps

Cordyceps militaris

Orange cultivated cordyceps used for stamina and lung Qi — buy militaris, not mystery 'Himalayan gold'.

low immunity

Eleuthero

Eleutherococcus senticosus

The Siberian cousin of ginseng — a thorny adaptogen of cold woods, not the man-root on the other plate.

low immunity

Enoki

Flammulina velutipes

The needle mushroom of hot-pot — food first, with a modest winter immune tradition in East Asia.

low immunity

Garlic

Allium sativum

The original kitchen antimicrobial — crushed raw for punch, roasted for daily food medicine.

low immunity

King oyster

Pleurotus eryngii

The steak of the oyster clan — a fat stem you sear, with the same gentle glucan bonus as its cousins.

low immunity

Maitake

Grifola frondosa

Hen-of-the-woods — a clustered oak fungus eaten for flavor and immune tone.

low immunity

Moringa

Moringa oleifera

The drumstick tree — a tropical leaf-and-pod crop sold as a miracle, and honestly just a very good green.

low immunity

Nasturtium

Tropaeolum majus

Peppery lily-pad leaves and a spurred flower — a salad plant whose pickled seeds stand in for capers.

low immunity

Nigella

Nigella sativa

Kalonji — the small black seed on naan, a peppery-oregano spice with a long West Asian kitchen record.

low immunity

Oyster mushroom

Pleurotus ostreatus

The easiest gourmet mushroom — food first, with a modest immune-supporting glucan bonus.

low immunity

Purple coneflower

Echinacea purpurea

Prairie coneflower taken at the first scratch of a cold — immune-modulating, not a daily tonic.

low immunity

Reishi

Ganoderma lucidum

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

low immunity

Shiitake

Lentinula edodes

The farmable forest mushroom — food first, immune-modulating lentinan as a bonus.

low immunity

Turkey tail

Trametes versicolor

Zoned fans on dead wood — the best-studied medicinal polypore for immune support beside treatment, not instead of it.

low immunity

Watercress

Nasturtium officinale

The peppery brook green — a mustard that lives in clean moving water, and a Victorian breakfast plate.

low immunity