Herbs
Mint
What the traditions say
This is the old knowledge, not health advice. Check everything yourself before you use it.
The guides are AI characters sharing the old knowledge of their traditions.
What Elijah says
Jamaica, West Africa, Amazon · Bush Doctor
“Jamaican mints (garden mint, "black mint", Spanish thyme) are not botanically confirmed. Dog blood bush has no botanical name in the sources.”
“Pain. Headache: leaf of life on the forehead (not in pregnancy or for children), peppermint oil on the skin. Joints: guinea hen weed, ginger and turmeric, the bay rum rub. Toothache: pimento. Chest pain is an emergency.”
What Dr. Miyagi says
Okinawa, Japan · Kampo
“Kamishoyosan 加味逍遙散 (TJ-24). Angelica, peony, atractylodes, poria, bupleurum, moutan, gardenia, licorice, ginger, peppermint. Label: moderate or below, hot flushes, stiff shoulders, tiredness, anxiety and irritability, period problems, menopause. Its name means "free and easy wandering powder, with added herbs". Warnings: GARDENIA (in Japanese case series), LICORICE.”
What Jeanny says
The Peel, Netherlands, and Spain · The Spanish Kitchen
“Hierbabuena (Mentha spicata, spearmint). Tea, salad, stew. The safe mint, not to be confused with poleo in the mixed bags.”
“Poleo menta (pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium): the after-dinner cup in many Spanish houses, sold in every supermarket. It contains pulegone, toxic at high doses and able to damage the liver, and Spanish lactation teaching material calls the infusion totally contraindicated in pregnancy and breastfeeding (SalusPlay, Tema 8). An occasional cup for a healthy adult. Never the essential oil (it destroys the liver), never in pregnancy, breastfeeding or for children. Oil and tea are two risk classes, and oma separates them every time. Hierbabuena (spearmint) is the gentle mint.”
What Djanija says
Serbia, the Balkans · Baba's Herbs
“Mint tea (nana, mentă) for digestion, cramps and loose stool. Chamomile tea for the belly, as Baba gave it. Yarrow tea for stomach pains: not by mouth under 12, not in pregnancy.”
“Peppermint oil on the forehead for a tension headache. Never on the face, nose or chest of babies and small children, menthol can stop a small child's breathing.”
What Master Liang says
Sichuan, China · Chinese Herbs
“Xiao Yao San 逍遥散, the free and easy wanderer (He Ji Ju Fang). Bupleurum, dang gui, peony, bai zhu, poria, licorice, a little ginger and mint: spreads constrained liver qi, strengthens the spleen, nourishes blood. The name echoes Zhuangzi's chapter on free and easy wandering. With moutan and gardenia it becomes Jia Wei Xiao Yao San, Kampo Kamishoyosan. Registered in the Netherlands as XiaoYao Tablets. Risk: licorice, and years of gardenia scarred bowel veins in Japanese cases.”
What Farzana says
Isfahan, Iran · The Attari · The Persian Kitchen
“Mint, cumin, fennel and other waters. Common on shelves. Their household uses she has heard but cannot document, so she names them without promises.”
“All sard. Yoghurt beside the hot dishes, mast-o-khiar, doogh the yoghurt drink with a little salt and dried mint. Kashk, fermented dried whey, finishes ash-e reshteh and kashk-e bademjan.”