Tag: Antioxidant

Cowslip (Primula veris) is a spring-blooming wildflower with soft yellow, bell-shaped blossoms and a long history in European herbal traditions. While it’s often admired...

Costmary (Tanacetum balsamita) is a fragrant, old-world herb that has quietly moved between kitchen and apothecary for centuries. It belongs to the daisy family,...

Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), sometimes called bachelor’s button or bluebottle, is best known as a vivid blue edible flower—but its value goes beyond decoration. Traditionally,...

Corn silk is the soft, thread-like “silks” that sit beneath a corn husk and connect each kernel to the plant. In herbal traditions, it...

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is one of those rare plants that can be both a daily kitchen staple and a legitimately interesting medicinal herb. Depending...

Copperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana) is a tropical shrub best known for its vivid, coppery-red foliage—but in many traditional systems it is also valued as a...

Comptonia peregrina—better known as sweetfern—is a fragrant, fern-like shrub native to eastern North America. Despite its delicate appearance, it’s a surprisingly sturdy plant with...

Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum) is a tall prairie perennial best known for its distinctive, deeply cut leaves and its reputation for “pointing” north to...

Colocynth—also called bitter apple or desert gourd—is a striking plant with a long history in traditional medicine and an equally long record of caution...

Coffee Robusta (Coffea canephora) is one of the two major coffee species used worldwide, prized for its bold flavor, high caffeine content, and naturally...

Coffee Liberica is one of the least common “main” coffee species in global trade, but it has a loyal following for a reason: the...

Coffee Arabica (Coffea arabica) is the familiar coffee plant behind many of the world’s most aromatic, smooth-tasting brews. While people often reach for Arabica...

Codonopsis (Codonopsis pilosula), often called Dang Shen, is a sweet, mild-tasting root used in East Asian traditions as a “qi tonic” for low energy,...

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is the seed-derived food we recognize as cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and cacao nibs. It is also one of the most...

Cocklebur is a prickly, weedy plant best known for the burrs that cling to clothing and animal fur—but it also has a long, complicated...

Club moss (Lycopodium clavatum) is an ancient, spore-producing plant that looks deceptively soft and “mossy,” yet behaves more like a living fossil than a...

Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is the dried, unopened flower bud of a tropical evergreen tree, prized as both a warming culinary spice and a concentrated...

Cleavers (Galium aparine) is a humble, sticky spring plant that clings to clothing and fur—yet it has earned a long-standing place in Western herbal...

Citronella is best known for one job: helping people spend time outdoors with fewer mosquito distractions. The plant Cymbopogon nardus—often called citronella grass—produces an...

Cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans), often called creeping cinquefoil, is a low-growing Rosaceae plant with five-fingered leaves and small yellow flowers. While it can look like...

Cinnamon basil (Ocimum basilicum ‘Cinnamon’) is a fragrant basil cultivar that bridges two familiar worlds: the bright, green sweetness of basil and the warm,...

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), often called Ceylon cinnamon or “true cinnamon,” is the sweet, aromatic inner bark of an evergreen tree traditionally grown in Sri...

Cilantro is one of those everyday herbs that quietly does a lot. The fresh leaves and tender stems of Coriandrum sativum bring a bright,...

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) is more than an ornamental flower. In many East Asian traditions, the dried flower head—often called ju hua—is brewed into a...