The Herb Garden

According to The Herb Society of America's New Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses by Deni Bown:

"The term "herb" also has more than one definition. Botanists describe an herb as a small, seed bearing plant with fleshy, rather than woody, parts (from which we get the term "herbaceous")... In addition to herbaceous perennials, herbs include trees, shrubs, annuals, vines, and more primitive plants, such as ferns, mosses, algae, lichens, and fungi. They [herbs] are valued for their flavor, fragrance, medicinal and healthful qualities, economic and industrial uses, pesticidal properties, and coloring materials (dyes)."

© Deni Bown, 2001.  Citation: Bown, Deni. The Herb Society of America New Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2001. p. 18.