Plant Profile: Henna (Lawsonia inermis)
Karen Native to semi-arid and tropical areas of Africa, Asia, and northern Australia, this slender, much branched, evergreen shrub or small tree is also known as mignonette tree and Egyptian privet.…
Plant Profile: Sweet Flag (Acornum calamus)
This aquatic perennial goes by many name including beewort, calamus, flag root, gladdon, myrtle flag, pine root, sea sedge and sweet cane. It is native to Asia and Europe where…
Plants of Colonial Williamsburg: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare aka F. officinale)
Fennel is a herbaceous perennial and a member of the carrot family, Apiaceae that also includes parsley, celery, and Queen Anne’s lace. It is native to the Mediterranean region region…
Plant Profile: Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum)
Also called love-apple, mandrake is a very variable herbaceous perennial that is native to the Mediterranean area including Israel and the Levant and some sourses would classsify mandrakes in the…
Plant Profile: Horsemint (Mentha longifolia)
Also called wild mint, this herbaceous perennial is native to moist and wet habitats of Europe, western and central Asia, and southern and northern parts of Africa. Plants rapidly grow…
Plants of the Bible: Rue (Ruta graveolens)
Also called herb of grace, rue is an evergreen mounding subshrub native to the Balkan Peninsula where it grows on dry hillsides, often on limestone. The ancient Greeks used rue…
Plant Profile: Spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi)
Also called nard, nardin and muskroot, this aromatic herbaceous perennial is native to the montane and subalpine zones of the Himalayas where it grows on steep, grassy slopes. Growing 4-20″…
Plants of the Bible: Coriander (Coriandrum sativa)
Also known as cilantro and Chinese parsley, coriander is a warm weather annual native to southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean but is widely cultivated elsewhere as a culinary herb…
Plants of the Bible: Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)
Cumin is a herbaceous annual native to the eastern Mediterranean east to India and has been known from ancient Egyptian times. Although there have been many claims about the medicinal…
Plant Profile: Betony (Stachys officinalis aka Betonica officinalis)
This herbaceous perennial is native to grasslands, meadows, and open woods of Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa and is also known as common hedgenettle and bishopwort. It is a…