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by: Jeff Anderson
Herbs were recorded in use as early as 2500 B.C.
Ancient clay tablets reveal that the Sumerians used Herbs. The ancient Assyrians
knew about the virtues of 250 herbs. The ancient Egyptians also used herbs as
early as 1600 B.C. The Herbs they used included elderberry, pomegranate bark,
wild lettuce, wormwood, hemlock and other herbs for health. The Greeks of old
used herbs such as mustard, cinnamon, gentian, rhubarb and many others. A pupil
of Aristotle wrote ten books on the history of plains and herbs. Alexander the
Great made a number of expeditions into Africa, Persia and India and brought
back herbs in use in those countries.
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A Roman Soldier and writer, Pliny, the Elders did extensive
research on herbs and wrote 47 large volumes on natural history, containing
information on about 1000 herb plants.
It is important to look at Herbs as being a type of
medicine, and with all medicines the important part of the equation
is not how great a medicine is. The important part is whether the medicine is
right for the patient.
Early herb gardens were the major source for food seasoning.
The need for homegrown herbs, however, declined with the
advent of modern stores. Today, many gardeners are rediscovering the joy and
pleasure of producing their own herbs.
Definition of Herb
From the botanical viewpoint, an herb is a seed plant
that does not produce a woody stem like a tree. But an herb will live
long enough to develop flowers and seeds.
Number of Herbs Available
A true herb connoisseur can select from a wide variety of common
and not-so-common herbs. For example, the E & A Evetts Ashfields Herb Nursery
of Shropshire, England, lists 57 herbs, 16 mints, 17 onion-type herbs,
20 sages, and 17 thymes in a recent catalogue. The Brooklyn Botanic
Garden Handbook on Herbs lists 73 different types of herbs.
Some herbs fit into one or more classifications according
to use -- culinary, aromatic, ornamental, and medicinal.
Other articles you may find interesting:
Garlic:
The Wonder Herb
Garlic
in your food for health
Drinks
that Cure
Benefits
Of Vitamin B12 (Methylcobalamin) Supplementation
Jeff Anderson knows his herbs. He knows what to look for
and what pitfalls to avoid. Let him guide you to finding out more about herbs.
Contact him at Jeff@herb-lunch.com
or visit the blog at his site www.herb-lunch.com
*The articles published on this site undergo our review
process. We found the information in this article to be very useful and informative.
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