Herbs

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is a species of succulent plant that probably originated in northern Africa. The species does not have any naturally occurring populations, although closely related aloes do occur in northern Africa. The species is frequently cited as being used in herbal medicine since the beginning of the first century AD. Extracts from A.

Vera are widely used in the cosmetics and alternative medicine industries, being marketed as variously having rejuvenating, healing or soothing properties. There is, however, little scientific evidence of the effectiveness or safety of A. vera extracts for either cosmetic or medicinal purposes, and what positive evidence is available is frequently contradicted by other studies. Medical uses of aloe vera are being investigated as well.




Cat Whiskers
Fast growing, perennial bush, 1-2 metres tall, indigenous to south east Asia and Australia’s tropical North Queensland. Multi-branched stems have opposite, ovate leaves to 5cm with fine toothed margins. Terminal flower stems carry whorls of white, two-lipped flowers and protruding purple stamens, which give the flower its characteristic cat’s whiskers appearance. It is a favourite flower of my daughter, Angela. There is a variety with lavender flowers, that also makes an eye-catching display in the garden.

 


Chocolate Mint

Chocolate mint leaves have a delightful minty chocolate flavor, much like the classic Girl Scout cookie. Stems tend to run rampantly over—and under—soil. In small garden spaces, it’s best to tuck chocolate mint into a pot to curtail its wandering ways. Chocolate mint thrives alongside water gardens or in damp spots in the yard. Lushest growth occurs in moist soil in partial shade. Crush fresh leaves into water for a refreshing beverage, or add to tea or coffee. You can also dry leaves for flavoring desserts, like ice cream, meringues, quick breads, or cakes. Pick leaves frequently. Plants open lavender blooms in late summer.





Coriander
Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), also known as cilantro, Chinese parsley or dhania, is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to regions spanning from southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to 50 cm (20 in) tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the flowering stems. The flowers are borne in small umbels, white or very pale pink, asymmetrical, with the petals pointing away from the centre of the umbel longer (5–6 mm)






 
Curly Leaves Mint

Curly Mint (M. spicata variety crispii) - This plant is valued more for its intricately curled, fringed leaves than for its fragrance. The foliage is dark green and lightly splotched with a contrasting lighter green. They can grow up to 2 feet high and are invasive. Chefs like Curly Mint for garnishes, but prefer the pleasant flavor of Spearmint and Peppermint.

 




Curry Leaf

Curry leaf has many herbal medicinal properties and its a most prominently used herb in south indian cooking. Using curry leaves with food strengthens the functions of stomach and promotes its action. It is good for indigestion problem. It also helps to control Diarrhea, and upset stomach problems.  It also helps prevent premature hair greying.

 




 
Dill

Dill (Anethum graveolens), depending on where it is grown, is either a perennial or annual herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens (L.) C.B.Clarke.

 





Indian Borage

Plectranthus amboinicus is a tender fleshy perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae with an oregano-like flavor and odor, native to Southern and Eastern Africa, from South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal) and Swaziland to Angola and Mozambique and north to Kenya and Tanzania. It is widely cultivated and naturalised elsewhere in the Old and New World Tropics.






Laksa Leaf

Persicaria odorata, the Vietnamese coriander, is an herb whose leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking. Other English names for the herb include Vietnamese mint, Vietnamese cilantro, Cambodian mint and hot mint. The Vietnamese name is rau răm, while in Malaysia and Singapore it is called daun kesom or daun laksa (laksa leaf). In Thailand, it is called phak phai and the Hmong word for it is Luam Laws. In Laos, it is called phak phaew.





Lemon Balm

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), a member of the mint family, is considered a calming herb. It was used as far back as the Middle Ages to reduce stress and anxiety, promote sleep, improve appetite, and ease pain and discomfort from indigestion (including gas and bloating, as well as colic). Even before the Middle Ages, lemon balm was steeped in wine to lift the spirits, help heal wounds, and treat venomous insect bites and stings. Today, lemon balm is often combined with other calming, soothing herbs, such as valerian, chamomile, and hops, to help promote relaxation. It is also used in creams to treat cold sores (oral herpes)





Lemon Basil

Lemon basil, Thai lemon basil or Lao basil (Ocimum × citriodorum) is a hybrid between basil (Ocimum basilicum) and African basil (Ocimum americanum).

The herb is grown primarily in northeastern Africa and southern Asia for its strong fragrant lemon scent, and is used in cooking.

Lemon basil stems can grow to 20-40 cm tall. It has white flowers in late summer to early fall. The leaves are similar to basil leaves, but tend to be narrower. Seeds form on the plant after flowering and dry on the plant.





Man Tian Xing (Pavetta)

Pavetta is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. It comprises about 350 species of trees, evergreen shrubs and sub-shrubs. It is found in woodlands, grasslands and thickets in sub-tropical and tropical Africa and Asia. The plants are cultivated for their simple but variable leaves, usually opposite but also occur in triple whorls. The leaves are often membranous with small black glands. Pavetta has small, white, tubular flowers, sometimes salviform or funnel-shaped with 4 spreading petal lobes. The flowers are carried on terminal corymbs or cymes.






 
Oregano

Oregano, scientifically named Origanum vulgare by Carolus Linnaeus, is a common species of Origanum, a genus of the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is native to warm-temperate western and southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region.

Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm tall, with opposite leaves 1–4 cm long. Oregano will grow in a pH range between 6.0 (mildly acid) and 9.0 (strongly alkaline) with a preferred range between 6.0 and 8.0. The flowers are purple, 3–4 mm long, produced in erect spikes. It is sometimes called wild marjoram, and its close relative O. majorana is known as sweet marjoram.

 


Pandan Leaf

Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant in the Pandanus (screwpine) genus, which is known commonly as pandan leaves and is used widely in Southeast Asian cooking as a flavoring. The plant is rare in the wild, but is widely cultivated. It is an upright, green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long, narrow, bladelike leaves and woody aerial roots. The plant is sterile, flowers only very rarely, and is propagated by cuttings.

 


Pereskia

Pereskia is a genus of about 25 tropical species and varieties of cacti that do not look much like other types of cacti, having substantial leaves and thin stems. They originate from the region between Brazil and Mexico. The genus is named after Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, a 16th century French botanist, which also has been given its own subfamily Pereskioideae. Members of this genus are usually referred to as lemon vines, rose cacti or leaf cacti, though the latter also refers to the genus Epiphyllum.

Species of Pereskia generally resemble other types of plants, such as roses. Pereskia species have large, bright green, privet-like leaves and long spiny stems. Not always succulent plants, they can be classified as shrubs, climbing plants or slightly succulent trees. However, close examination shows spines developing from areoles, and the distinctive floral cup of the cactus family. Unlike Pereskiopsis, Maihuenia, Quiabentia and Austrocylindropuntia which have persistent succulent leaves, Pereskia is the only cactus genus that has persistent non-succulent leaves. It is believed that the ancestor of all cacti resembled Pereskia. 

Parsley

Parsley (Petroselinum hortense) is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region (southern Italy, Algeria and Tunisia), naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.

 





Peppermint

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita, also known as M. balsamea Willd is a hybrid mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. The plant, indigenous to Europe, is now widespread in cultivation throughout all regions of the world. It is found wild occasionally with its parent species.

 

Purple Basil

Purple basil is a cultivar of Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil) with dark purple leaves. It is distinguished from other purple basil varieties by smaller, darker leaves. It has the darkest leaves of any purple basil variety. The plant averages a height of 20 inches (51 cm) and is grown in sunny or partially sunny environments. 

Ruta Graveolens

The Common Rue (Ruta graveolens), also known as Herb-of-Grace, is a species of rue grown as a herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula, southeastern Europe. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, especially because of its bluish leaves, and also sometimes for its tolerance of hot and dry soil conditions. It also is cultivated as a medicinal herb, as a condiment, and to a lesser extent as an insect repellent.

 



Saba Snake Grass

Sabah snake grass is a very cooling herb that is highly concentrated in antioxidants. It is good for kidney related problems. Though many people have claimed it as a wonder cure for cancer, my personal experience is that it is still more useful for treatment of kidneys and renal problems. The reason for cancer patients experiencing "healing" could be because of the high antioxidants but overdosing could have adverse effects as the body could be overcooled. I personally use an aloe herbal remedy for cancer which I find effective and have personally seen many cancer patients helped and cured.






Sage

Sage is an astringent, antiseptic, tonic herb, with a camphor-like aroma.Sage relaxes spasms, suppresses perspiration and lactation, improves liver function and digestion and has anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant and estrogenic effects.

It contains phenolic acids, flavonoids, diterpenoids, triterpenes and an essential oil which contains a-thujone, camphor, 1,8-ceneole and other monoterpenes. 





Spearmint

Spearmint in its general characteristics resembles peppermint, but it is rather more vigorous in its growth, the lance-shaped leaves are generally stem less, and the flower spikes are narrow and pointed rather than thick and blunt.






 

Sweet Basil

Basil, or Sweet Basil, is a common name for the culinary herb Ocimum basilicum (pronounced /ˈbæzɪl/ or, in the US, /ˈbeːzɪl/), of the family Lamiaceae (mints), sometimes known as Saint Joseph's Wort in some English-speaking countries.

Basil, originally from India, is a half-hardy annual plant, best known as a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and also plays a major role in the Northeast Asian cuisine of Taiwan and the Southeast Asian cuisines of Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Depending on the species and cultivar, the leaves may taste somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, often sweet smell.

 

Tarragon
Tarragon, dragon's-wort,[citation needed] French tarragon, Russian tarragon, silky wormwood, or wild tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae related to wormwood. Corresponding to its species name, a common term for the plant is "dragon herb". It is native to a wide area of the Northern Hemisphere from easternmost Europe across central and eastern Asia to India, western North America, and south to northern Mexico.

Thai Basil

Thai basil, or Asian basil (húng quế in Vietnamese) is a type of sweet basil native to Southeast Asia that has been cultivated to provide distinctive traits. Its flavor is more stable under high or extended cooking temperatures than that of sweet basil. Thai basil exhibits small, narrow leaves and purple stems, with a mauve (pink-purple) flower. One cultivar commonly grown in the United States is 'Queen of Siam'.

 



Thulasi

Ocimum tenuiflorum, Holy Basil (also tulsi, tulasī), is an aromatic plant in the family Lamiaceae which is native throughout the Old World tropics and widespread as a cultivated plant and an escaped weed. It is an erect, much branched subshrub, 30–60 cm tall with hairy stems and simple, opposite, green leaves that are strongly scented. Leaves have petioles, and are ovate, up to 5 cm long, usually slightly toothed. The flowers are purplish in elongate racemes in close whorls. The two main morphotypes cultivated in India and Nepal are green-leaved (Sri or Lakshmi tulsi) and purple-leaved (Krishna tulsi).

Tulsi is cultivated for religious and medicinal purposes, and for its essential oil. It is widely known across South Asia as a medicinal plant and an herbal tea, commonly used in Ayurveda, and has an important role within the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism, in which devotees perform worship involving tulsi plants or leaves.







 
Thymes

Thyme is a culinary and medicinal herb of the genus Thymus. Thyme is best cultivated in a hot, sunny location with well-drained soil. It is generally planted in the spring, and thereafter grows as a perennial. It can be propagated by seed, cuttings, or by dividing rooted sections of the plant. It tolerates drought well. The plants can take deep freezes and are found growing wild on mountain highlands. Along the Riviera it is found from sea level and up to 800m.