Herb - Revision history

Raffi at 16:14, 21 October 2009

2009-10-21T16:14:08Z

Raffi at 16:12, 21 October 2009

2009-10-21T16:12:45Z

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Raffi: SCH and other

2009-04-08T17:56:08Z

SCH and other

Envoy at 07:20, 26 September 2007

2007-09-26T07:20:06Z

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{{otheruses}}
{{cuisine}}[[Image:Herbs.jpg|thumb|left|Herbs: basil]]
'''Herbs''' ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]: hə({{IPA|ɹ}})b, or ə{{IPA|ɹ}}b; see [[American and British English pronunciation differences#Single differences|pronunciation differences]]) are seed-bearing [[plant]]s without woody stems, which die down to the ground after flowering.<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/herb
| title=Dictionary.com
| accessdate=2007-05-07
}}</ref>

Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual usage. The green, leafy part of the plant is often used, but herbal medicine makes use of the roots, flowers, seeds, root bark, inner bark (cambium), berries and sometimes the pericarp or other portions. General usage differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs. A medicinal herb may be a shrub or other woody plant, whereas a culinary herb is a non-woody plant, typically using the leaves. By contrast, [[spice]]s are the [[seed]]s, [[berry|berries]], [[bark]], [[root]], [[fruit]], or other parts of the plant, even leaves in some cases; although any of these, as well as any edible fruits or vegetables, may be considered "herbs" in medicinal or spiritual use. Culinary herbs are distinguished from [[vegetable]]s in that they are used in small amounts and provide [[flavor]] (similar to spices) rather than substance to [[food]]. In this sense, some herbs contain phytochemicals that when consumed in small quantities can be healthy, yet in large quantities can be toxic to the liver.

== See also ==
* [[Apothecary]]
* [[Herbalism]]
* [[Herb garden]]
* [[The Herb Society of America]]
* [[International Herb Association]]
* [[List of herbs and spices]]
* [[Remedy]]

== References ==
<references/>

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[[Category:Plant morphology]]
[[Category:Herbs]]

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 The botanical definition is as follows: Naturally dying to the ground; without persistent [[stem]] above ground; lacking definite [[woody]] firm structure.{{SCH}}
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 ==Botanical definition==
 {{Inc|
 Herb, Herbs. An herb is a plant that dies to the ground each year, or at least that does not become woody. It may be annual, as bean, pigweed; biennial, as mullein, parsnip; perennial, as dictamnus, rhubarb; many of the perennials live only three or four years effectively. To the gardener, however, the word "herb" is ordinarily synonymous with herbaceous perennial: and he usually has in mind those particular perennial herbs grown for ornament, and which remain where they are planted. Goldenrod, bleeding-heart, sweet wilham, hollyhock, daffodil are examples. To many persons, however, the word herb is synonymous with sweet herb, and it suggests sage and tansy.

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-{{otheruses}}
+[[Image:Upload.png|thumb|[[Special:Upload|Upload image!]]]]
-{{cuisine}}[[Image:Herbs.jpg|thumb|left|Herbs: basil]]
+The botanical definition is as follows: Naturally dying to the ground; without persistent [[stem]] above ground; lacking definite [[woody]] firm structure.{{SCH}}
-Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual usage.  The green, leafy part of the plant is often used, but herbal medicine makes use of the roots, flowers, seeds, root bark, inner bark (cambium), berries and sometimes the pericarp or other portions.  General usage differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs.  A medicinal herb may be a shrub or other woody plant, whereas a culinary herb is a non-woody plant, typically using the leaves.  By contrast, [[spice]]s are the [[seed]]s, [[berry|berries]], [[bark]], [[root]], [[fruit]], or other parts of the plant, even leaves in some cases; although any of these, as well as any edible fruits or vegetables, may be considered "herbs" in medicinal or spiritual use.  Culinary herbs are distinguished from [[vegetable]]s in that they are used in small amounts and provide [[flavor]] (similar to spices) rather than substance to [[food]].  In this sense, some herbs contain phytochemicals that when consumed in small quantities can be healthy, yet in large quantities can be toxic to the liver.
+In common usage herb refers to plants with culinary, medicinal or similar uses.
-== See also ==
+==See also==
-* [[Apothecary]]
+*[[List of herbs and spices]]
-* [[Herbalism]]
+*[[Herb garden]]
-== References ==
+{{glossary}}