Herbal Immune Support: Immune-Stimulating, Antiviral & Vitamin C-Rich Herbs

When we talk about supporting the body during cold and flu season, not every herb serves the same purpose. Some herbs are traditionally used when we are sick or have recently been exposed to illness, while others provide nourishing plant compounds that can be incorporated into our routines in different ways.

Understanding those differences can help us become more intentional about the herbs we choose and why we are using them.

Immune Stimulators: Herbs for When You Need Extra Support

Immune-stimulating herbs are generally thought of as herbs to reach for when you are sick or when you have been around others who are sick, rather than herbs that are necessarily taken continuously.

Two commonly used immune stimulators are:

• Echinacea

• Elderberry

In Introduction to Herbalism, herbalist Stacie Younger identifies echinacea and elderberry as immune stimulators and describes them as herbs generally used when needed rather than as everyday herbs.

Elderberry in Our Lineup

Elderberry appears in several Rosemary & Cedar Botanicals products, giving us a few different ways to work with this plant.

Elderberry Tincture
Our current tincture collection includes an elderberry tincture formulated specifically for immune support. Like our other tinctures, it is prepared using dried herbs and 80-proof vodka and allowed to infuse for 4–6 weeks before being strained and bottled.

Immunity Elderberry Syrup
Our elderberry syrup is made with dried elderberries, water, and honey. The elderberries are simmered in water until the liquid reduces by half before the syrup is finished. At this time, DIY kits and freshly made syrup can be found at farmers markets only.

Texas Sunrise Tea
Elderberry is also part of our reformulated Texas Sunrise loose-leaf tea, giving this bright blend another botanical traditionally associated with seasonal wellness.

Antiviral Herbs

Herbalists also traditionally classify a number of plants as having antiviral properties.

These include:

• Thyme

• Echinacea

• Ginger

• Oregano

• Sage

• Basil

• Garlic

• Rosemary

• Astragalus

One of my favorite things about this list is how familiar many of these plants are.

Rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, basil, garlic, and ginger may already have a place in your kitchen. Herbalism does not always begin with an unfamiliar herb hidden away in an apothecary cabinet. Sometimes it begins with learning more about plants we have cooked with our entire lives.

Several of these herbs also appear throughout our own lineup.

Rosemary in Our Lineup

Rosemary is one of the herbs we work with in several different preparations.

Texas Sunrise Tea

Our reformulated Texas Sunrise contains:

• Rose hips

• Dried orange peel

• Green tea

• Hibiscus

• Elderberries

• Dried ginger

• Lemongrass

• Rosemary

• Dried lemon peel

This blend is especially interesting because it brings together several of the herbal categories we are discussing in one cup. It contains elderberry, traditionally considered an immune stimulant; ginger and rosemary, which appear on the antiviral herb list; and rose hips, hibiscus, and orange peel, which are included among vitamin C-rich botanicals.

Hill Country Calm Tea

Our Hill Country Calm blend also contains rosemary, combined with:

• Chamomile

• Oatstraw

• Tulsi

• Hawthorn leaf

• Licorice root

Hill Country Calm was formulated as a calming, nourishing tea rather than an acute immune formula. That is an important distinction.

One herb can have many different properties, and its role in a formula depends on what it is paired with and what the overall blend is designed to accomplish.

Trail Remedy Salve

Rosemary is also the foundation of our Trail Remedy Salve.

This topical formula begins with rosemary-infused extra virgin olive oil and combines it with shea butter, coconut oil, beeswax, vitamin E, cedarwood essential oil, frankincense essential oil, and lavender essential oil. Rosemary essential oil is also added to each finished tin.

Because Trail Remedy is a topical product, its purpose is very different from drinking rosemary in tea. It is a good example of how the same herb can be incorporated into entirely different herbal preparations.

Wild Roots Hair Oil

Rosemary is also featured in our Wild Roots Hair Oil, where rosemary and nettle are infused into jojoba oil and combined with castor oil, vitamin E, rosemary, cedarwood, and tea tree essential oils.

Again, this isn't an immune product—it simply shows how versatile a single plant can be across herbal formulations.

Antibacterial Herbs

A few herbs traditionally described as antibacterial include:

• Garlic

• Oregano

• Thyme

• Ginger

• Yarrow

While ginger appears in our internal tea blends, yarrow is one of the herbs we primarily work with in our topical collection.

Yarrow in Our Lineup

Wildflower Facial Glow Elixir

Our Wildflower Facial Glow Elixir begins with yarrow and calendula infused jojoba oil.

That botanical infusion is combined with:

• Rosehip seed oil

• Tamanu oil

• Pomegranate seed oil

• Vitamin E

• Helichrysum essential oil

• Frankincense essential oil

• Lavender essential oil

• Chamomile essential oil

• Yarrow essential oil

Saddle Up Cuticle Rescue Oil

Yarrow and calendula infused jojoba oil also form the botanical base of our Saddle Up Cuticle Rescue Oil, along with castor oil, vitamin E, lavender, frankincense, myrrh, and tea tree essential oils.

Soothe & Settle Herbal Compress Kit

Our Soothe & Settle Herbal Compress contains equal parts:

• Calendula flowers

• Chamomile flowers

• Plantain leaf

• Yarrow

• Rose petals

These are all topical preparations, so they serve a very different purpose than taking yarrow internally.

Herbs Naturally Rich in Vitamin C

Immune support isn't only about stimulating the immune system.

Nourishing the body matters too.

Introduction to Herbalism identifies several herbs and plant ingredients as being high in vitamin C:

• Rose hips

• Hibiscus

• Raspberry leaf

• Orange peel

Three of those botanicals are found together in one of our signature teas.

Texas Sunrise: A Botanical Blend Worth a Closer Look

Our reformulated Texas Sunrise Tea contains rose hips, hibiscus, and dried orange peel—three of the four vitamin C-rich botanicals highlighted above.

But that's only part of the formula.

Texas Sunrise contains:

• Rose hips

• Dried orange peel

• Green tea

• Hibiscus

• Elderberries

• Dried ginger

• Lemongrass

• Rosemary

• Dried lemon peel

When you look at the formula from an herbal perspective, you can see why I love this blend so much. Rather than relying on a single plant, it brings together several botanicals with different traditional uses.

Wildflower Wellness

Hibiscus also forms the base of our Wildflower Wellness Tea.

The blend contains:

• Hibiscus

• Peppermint

• Nettle

• Dandelion leaf

• Hawthorn

• Lemon balm

While hibiscus connects this blend to our discussion of vitamin C-rich botanicals, Wildflower Wellness wasn't formulated simply as an "immune tea."

That's something I think is important to remember when learning herbalism: a plant is more than one property.

A formula should be understood as a whole rather than reducing every ingredient to a single benefit.

An herb such as elderberry may be something you reach for more intentionally during seasonal illness or exposure, while nourishing botanicals can play a different role in an herbal routine.

This is also why I don't like looking at an herb and asking only:

"What is this herb good for?"

A better question is:

"What properties does this plant have, how is it being prepared, and what role does it play in this particular formula?"

That change in perspective is a big part of learning herbalism.

Finding These Herbs at Rosemary & Cedar Botanicals

If you're interested in exploring some of the herbs discussed here, you'll currently find them throughout our lineup:

• Elderberry Tincture — Elderberry

• Immunity Elderberry Syrup — Elderberry

• Texas Sunrise Tea — Elderberry, ginger, rosemary, rose hips, hibiscus, and orange peel

• Wildflower Wellness Tea — Hibiscus

• Hill Country Calm Tea — Rosemary

• Trail Remedy Salve — Rosemary

• Wild Roots Hair Oil — Rosemary

• Wildflower Facial Glow Elixir — Yarrow

• Saddle Up Cuticle Rescue Oil — Yarrow

• Soothe & Settle Herbal Compress Kit — Yarrow

Different preparations serve different purposes. Sometimes we drink the plant. Sometimes we create a tincture or syrup. Sometimes we slowly infuse it into oil. Sometimes we incorporate it into a topical preparation.

The more we learn about each herb, the more intentional those choices become.

Rooted in Nature. Made for Real Life.

Herbal classifications discussed in this article were informed by Stacie Younger's Introduction to Herbalism. Rosemary & Cedar Botanicals product ingredients were taken directly from our Signature Collection Recipe Book.