Feverfew’s camphorlike taste isn’t necessarily a flavor you want in your salad dressing, but clinical trials have demonstrated feverfew’s effectiveness against migraines.

If you want to try feverfew to prevent migraines, chew three to four of the leaflets daily, but keep in mind that no good studies are available on the effects of long-term use. The leaves lose their medicinal punch when dried; freeze them instead.

With divided leaves and daisylike flowers, this 2-foot (61-cm), somewhat short-lived perennial looks a bit like chamomile. However, feverfew’s individual leaflets are rounded, with feathery edges, and the flower’s central cone is flat. Woody at the base, feverfew at first forms a tidy mound, then sprawls when flowers begin blooming.

Hardy through Zone 4, you won’t have to baby it in your garden; give it full sun or partial shade, and ordinary, well-draining soil. In mild areas, direct sow seeds. In the North, start seeds indoors in March for planting out after the last-frost date. Feverfew is likely to self-seed. If not, you can propagate new plants by division or by taking cuttings (click here for instructions). Space plants about a foot apart. Bees dislike feverfew, so don’t plant it among plants that need pollinating.

Feverfew leaves cause mouth sores in a few people. Also, don’t experiment with this herb if you’re pregnant.

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