Boneset is not an everyday “immune herb.” It’s not something to sip all winter because you feel run down. Its traditional job is much narrower: a hot, bitter infusion used for a stuck, influenza-like fever with chills, aches, and no sweat. That’s the lane.

The first colds of the season bring the same pitch every year. Stack elderberry, turkey tail, vitamin D, zinc, oil of oregano, and whatever else is on the shelf, then take it every morning until spring. Some of those plants have a real, limited place. Boneset does not belong in that daily pile.