Herbs

• Title

  Herbs

• Authors

  Nathaniel Lord Britton

• Description

  HERBS Botanically, herbs are plants in which the stems and branches do not become definitely woody. In the classification adopted for this work, we have restricted them to erect, or upright kinds, as distinguished from climbing or trailing; herbaceous vines, which follow, grouped by themselves. In a few species, there is a small development of woody tissue, and these are sometimes regarded as low shrubs. Some herbs form only fibrous roots, and die after once flowering and fruiting, usually dependent for continuation wholly upon their seed, thus living only during one season, or growing period; in the temperate zones, these are usually reproduced from seed once a year, and are therefore designated annuals; in tropical regions, some fibrous-rooted species grow, which may have more than one reproduction period during the year. But most kinds of tropical herbs form roots other than fibrous, and of indefinite duration; these fall into the category of perennials, new stems or flowering stalks, arising from the roots, or other underground parts, more or less continually or periodically; these underground organs are of various kinds, such as bulbs, tubers, and rootstocks, or subterranean branches; perennial herbs are thus not wholly dependent upon their seeds. The number of kinds of herbs here illustrated and described is [ ]. They are grouped, as follows: a. Aquatic and marsh species. These live only in fresh-water streams, lakes or ditches, or in grounds permanently or usually wet. b. Native species mostly inhabiting woodlands or thickets. More or less shade is required for the best development of herbs of this category. c. Native species of sunny plains, banks, and hillsides. We have grouped under this heading herbs known to be indigenous, belonging to the original flora of the island. d. Naturalized or introduced species, mostly of waste and cultivated grounds. Many kinds of plants have been brought here in one manner or another, in many cases unintentionally, as seeds, since the occupation of the island by civilized peoples, have developed often abundantly, and have become elements of the flora; some of them are troublesome weeds of cultivated land. Those that are permanently established and plentiful we designate as naturalized; those that occur only occasionally we call introduced. There are some species open to doubt as to whether they are naturalized or native, because there are no records of the plants existing here at the time of occupation of the island by Europeans, nor for many years afterwards.