Herb

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Herb

A(n) herb ( or ; see pronunciation differences

American and British English pronunciation differences

Differences in pronunciation between American English and British English can be divided into:* differences in accent . Accents vary widely within AmE and within BrE, so the features considered here are mainly differences between General American and British Received Pronunciation ; for information about other accents see regional accents of...
) is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like.

s have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual usage. General usage differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs.

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Uses

Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual usage. General usage differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs. In medicinal or spiritual use any of the parts of the plant might be considered "herbs", including leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
, root

Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
s, flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s, seed

Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s, resin

Resin

Resin is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly Pinophyta. It is valued for its chemical constituents and uses, such as varnishes and adhesives, as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis, or for incense and perfume....
, root bark, inner bark (cambium

Cambium

In botany the cambium is a layer or layers of tissue, also known as meristems, that are the source of cells for secondary growth. There are two types of cambium...
), berries and sometimes the pericarp or other portions of the plant.

Culinary herbs

Culinary use of the term "herb" typically distinguishes between herbs, from the leafy green parts of a plant, and spice

Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
s, from other parts of the plant, including seed

Seed

Berry

In everyday English, a berry is a broad term for any small edible fruit. Most berries are juicy, round or semi-oblong, brightly coloured, sweet or sour, and don't have a stone or pit....
, bark

BARK

BARK was an early Electromechanics. BARK was built using standard phone relays, implementing a 32-bit binary machine and could perform addition in 150 ms and multiplication in 250 ms....
, root

Root

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
, and even occasionally dried leaves. Culinary herbs are distinguished from vegetable

Vegetable

The term "vegetable" generally means the Eating parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation....
s in that, like spices, they are used in small amounts and provide flavor

Flavor

Flavor or flavour is the sensory impression of a food or other chemical substance, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and olfaction....
rather than substance to food

Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
.

Some culinary herbs are shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s (such as rosemary

Rosemary

Rosemary is a woody, perennial plant herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaf. It is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which also includes many other herbs....
, Rosmarinus officinalis), or tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s (such as bay laurel

Bay Laurel

The Bay Laurel , also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10?18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region....
, Laurus nobilis) – this contrasts with botanical herbs, which by definition cannot be woody plants. Some plants are used as both a spice and a(n) herb, such as, dill seed and dill weed or cilantro (leaves) and coriander (seeds).

Medicinal herbs

Plants contain phytochemical

Phytochemical

Phytochemicals are plant-derived chemical compounds under scientific research for their potential health-promoting properties. Phytochemicals are non-essential nutrients, but still they have been scientifically confirmed as being important to human health....
s that have effects on the body. There may be some effects even when consumed in the small levels that typify culinary "spicing", and some herbs are toxic in larger quantities. For instance, some types of herbal extract, such as the extract of St. John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum) or of kava (Piper methysticum) can be used for medical purposes to relieve depression and stress. However, large amounts of these herbs may lead to poisoning, and should be used with caution. One herb-like substance, called Shilajit

Shilajit

Shilajit is used in the Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine. Shilajit is a rasayana herb and is an adaptogen. Shilajit contains at least 85 minerals in Ionic form as well as humic acid and fulvic acid....
, may actually help lower blood glucose levels which is especially important for those suffering from diabetes.

Some herbs are used not only for culinary and medicinal purposes, but also for recreational purposes; one such herb is cannabis

Cannabis

Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa L., Cannabis indica Lam., and Cannabis ruderalis Janisch....
.

Religious herbs

Herbs are used in many religion

Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
s – such as in Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
(myrrh

Myrrh

Myrrh is a reddish-brown resinous material, the dried Plant sap of a number of trees, but primarily from Commiphora myrrha, native to Yemen, Somalia, the eastern parts of Ethiopia and Commiphora gileadensis, native to Jordan....
(Commiphora myrrha), ague root (Aletris farinosa) and frankincense

Frankincense

Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an Aroma compound resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra ....
(Boswellia spp)) and in the partially Christianized Anglo-Saxon pagan Nine Herbs Charm

Nine Herbs Charm

The Nine Herbs Charm is an Anglo-Saxon literature recorded in the 10th century Lacnunga manuscript. The charm is intended for treatment of poison and infection through the preparation of nine herbs....
. In Hinduism

Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
a form of Basil

Basil

Basil , of the Family Lamiaceae. Basil is a tender low-growing herb that is grown as a Perennial plant in warm, tropical climates. Basil is originally native to Iran, India and other tropical regions of Asia, having been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years....
called Tulsi

Tulsi

Ocimum tenuiflorum is an aromatic plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is an erect, much branched subshrub 30-60cm tall, with simple opposite green or purple leaves that are strongly scented, and hairy stems....
is worshipped as a goddess

Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
for its medicinal value since the Vedic

Vedic period

The Vedic Period is the period during which the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Indo-Iranians, were being composed. Scholars place the Vedic period in the 2nd millennium BCE and 1st millennium BCE millennia BCE continuing up to the 6th century BCE based on literary evidence....
times. Many Hindus have a Tulsi plant in front of their houses.

Botanical herbs

In botanical

Botany

Botany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the Scientific method of plant life and development....
usage a herb or herbaceous plant is any non-woody plant, regardless of its flavor, scent or other properties. A botanical herb cannot therefore be a woody plant such as a tree or shrub.

Herb

Uses

Culinary herbs

Medicinal herbs

Religious herbs

Botanical herbs

See also

External links