草本植物

使用
Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual usage.草药有多种用途，包括烹饪，药用，在某些情况下甚至还可以用作精神用途。 General usage differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs.一般用法在烹饪草药和药用草药之间有所不同。 In medicinal or spiritual use any of the parts of the plant might be considered "herbs", including leaves, roots, flowers, seeds, resin, root bark, inner bark （cambium）, berries and sometimes the pericarp or other portions of the plant.在医学或精神用途中，植物的任何部分都可能被视为“药草”，包括叶子，根，花，种子，树脂，根皮，内部树皮（浆果），浆果，有时还包括果皮或植物的其他部分。
烹饪草药
Culinary use of the term "herb" typically distinguishes between herbs, from the leafy green parts of a plant, and spices, from other parts of the plant, including seeds, berries, bark, root, fruit, and even occasionally dried leaves.术语“药草”的烹饪使用通常区分草药（植物的绿叶部分）和香料（植物的其他部分，包括种子，浆果，树皮，根，果实，甚至偶有干叶）。 Culinary herbs are distinguished from vegetables in that, like spices, they are used in small amounts and provide flavor rather than substance to food.烹饪草药与蔬菜的区别在于，与香料一样，它们的使用量很小，它们能为食品提供味道而非物质。
Some culinary herbs are shrubs （such as rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis）, or trees （such as bay laurel, Laurus nobilis） – this contrasts with botanical herbs, which by definition cannot be woody plants.一些烹饪用药是灌木（例如迷迭香，迷迭香）或树木（例如月桂树，月桂树）–与植物药形成对照，植物药从定义上讲不能是木本植物。 Some plants are used as both a spice and an herb, such as dill seed and dill weed or coriander seeds and coriander leaves.一些植物既用作香料又用作草药，例如莳萝种子和莳萝杂草或香菜种子和香菜叶。
药用植物
Plants contain phytochemicals that have effects on the body.植物中含有对人体有影响的植物化学物质。 There may be some effects even when consumed in the small levels that typify culinary "spicing", and some herbs are toxic in larger quantities.即使少量食用（典型的烹饪“辛辣味”），也可能会产生某些影响，并且某些草药有大量毒性。 For instance, some types of herbal extract, such as the extract of St. John's-wort （Hypericum perforatum） or of kava （Piper methysticum） can be used for medical purposes to relieve depression and stress.例如，某些类型的草药提取物，例如圣约翰草（Hypericum perforatum）或卡瓦（Piper methysticum）的提取物可用于医疗目的，以缓解抑郁和压力。 However, large amounts of these herbs may lead to poisoning, and should be used with caution.但是，大量此类草药可能会导致中毒，应谨慎使用。 One herb-like substance, called Shilajit, may actually help lower blood glucose levels which is especially important for those suffering from diabetes.一种叫做Shilajit的草药状物质实际上可以帮助降低血糖水平，这对患有糖尿病的人尤其重要。 Herbs have long been used as the basis of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, with usage dating as far back as the first century CE.长期以来，草药一直被用作传统中草药的基础，其用法可以追溯到公元一世纪。
Some herbs are used not only for culinary and medicinal purposes, but also for recreational purposes;有些草药不仅用于烹饪和药用目的，还用于娱乐目的。 one such herb is cannabis.大麻就是其中一种。
宗教药草
Herbs are used in many religions – such as in Christianity （myrrh （Commiphora myrrha）, ague root （Aletris farinosa） and frankincense （Boswellia spp）） and in the partially Christianized Anglo-Saxon pagan Nine Herbs Charm.草药在许多宗教中使用，例如基督教（没药（Commiphora myrrha），牙根（Aletris farinosa）和乳香（Boswellia spp））以及部分基督教化的盎格鲁-撒克逊人异教徒的九种草药魅力。 In Hinduism a form of Basil called Tulsi is worshipped as a goddess for its medicinal value since the Vedic times.在印度教中，自吠陀时代以来，一种名为塔尔西（Tulsi）的罗勒形式就因其药用价值而被视为女神。 Many Hindus have a Tulsi plant in front of their houses.许多印度教徒在房屋前都拥有塔尔西植物。