Herb plants – Indoor herb garden

Herb plants are the oldest and still the most widely used system of medicine in the world today. Herb plants are medicine made exclusively from plants. Herb plants are used in all societies and are common to all cultures.

There are many different “types” of herbal medicine that spring from different cultures around the world. All these have the use of herb plants in common, but they vary in the plants they use, the way they prepare and use medicines from these plants, and the philosophy of their treatment approaches. Different cultures may also use the same plants but differ in how it is used, or the part they use.

When all is said in done utilize, herbs are any plants utilized for nourishment, enhancing, drug, or scents for their exquisite or sweet-smelling properties. Culinary utilize normally recognizes herbs from spices.. Herbs refer to the leafy green or flowering parts of a plant (either fresh or dried), while spices are produced from other parts of the plant (usually dried), including seeds, berries, bark, roots and fruits.

List of common Herb plants:

1. Neem:

Neem also called Azadirachta indica is an aboriginal tree found in tropical and semi-tropical countries like Burma and India; Neem has been declared non-toxic to humans and each part of the tree is used as an active ingredient in different industries. Neem tree has been given its due recognition, with a number of researches being conducted on an international level to understand the benefits and potential of neem. Today neem is used on a commercial basis and finds immense use in a number of products in industries ranging from cosmetics to agriculture, from pharmaceuticals to Ayurveda.

2. Tulsi (Holy basil) :

Tulsi the holy basil or the sacred basil is an ancient plant, which has tremendously aromatic, thin oval leaves, and purple-pink flowers. Holy basil is one of the crucial herbs in the Ayurvedic. Tulsi the holy basil belongs to Lamiaceae (mint) family and also known as the cousins of sweet basil.It is also famous as “Queen of Herbs” since the times of ancient civilization in India.

3. Gotu kola :

Gotu kola is used to treat bacterial, viral, or parastitic infections such as urinary tract infection (UTI), shingles, leprosy, cholera, dysentery, syphilis, the common cold, influenza, H1N1 (swine) flu, elephantiasis, tuberculosis, and schistosomiasis.Gotu kola is also used for fatigue, anxiety, depression, psychiatric disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, and improving memory and intelligence. Other uses include wound healing, trauma, and circulation problems (venous insufficiency) including varicose veins, and blood clots in the legs.

4. Rosemary :

Rosemary is the considerable reviver. This enduring woody herb empowers vitality and positive thinking and hones memory and fixation by conveying more oxygen to your cerebrum, It’s a brilliantly animating contrasting option to caffeine when you require that second wind! A row of these long-lived and drought-tolerant plants makes a beautiful, bee-friendly, evergreen hedge. You may only need one plant in your garden, as a little bit goes a long way.

5. Peppermint :

Peppermint is a hybrid herb – a cross between spearmint and watermint. It is a popular flavoring for chewing gum, candy, toothpaste and mouthwash. Its flavor is a cross between pepper and chlorophyll.Apart from being a popular flavoring agent, peppermint has medicinal uses for treating several types of physical and mental ailments.In fact, it has a long history of use in folk medicine and aromatherapy. You can use this herb in the form of leaves, oils, teas, extract and pills for medicinal purposes.

6. Ashwagandha :

Ashwagandha is a vital antiquated ayurvedic plant and a Kharif trim. The name Ashwagandha is made out of two Sanskrit words: Ashwa signifies “horse,” Gandha signifies “smell” due to the solid fragrance of the root portrayed as Horse-prefer.Areas receiving 600-750mm rainfall are best for the cultivation. It grows as a heavy shrub with its height reaching 170cm. It bears yellow color flowers and red color fruits. Unlike tomato though come from the same family, the fruits are of berry-like in size and shape. The cultivated plants are different from wild plants morphologically. The roots, leaves and berries of the plant are most useful. The harvesting starts in January and goes on till March.

7.Lemon Grass :

Lemon Grass an essential ingredient in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. The oil is used in soaps and perfumes. Forms a dramatic clump of lime-green foliage 3 to 5 feet tall. The leaves impart a lemony-citrus tang. In cooler areas grow it in large tubs and move it indoors for the winter.

8.Vitex negundo :

Vitex negundo (nirgundi, in Sanskrit and Hindi) is a deciduous shrub naturalized in many parts of the world. Some consider it to have originated in India and the Philippines. There is no reference to nirgundi in the Vedas, while several references occur in post-Vedic works. In India, the plant has multifarious uses: basketry, dyeing, fuel, food, stored-grain protectant, fi eld pesticide, growth promoter, manure, as medicine for poultry, livestock, and humans. It is used in all systems of treatment – Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy, and Allopathy.

9. Stevia :

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is an herb with small, moderately broad green leaves and reaches approximately 2 feet high at maturity. Stevia leaves are considered to be anywhere between 10 to 300 times sweeter than traditional white sugar, yet they contain neither calories nor carbohydrates.

10. Costus :

Costus is an herb. The root and oil from the root are used to make medicine.Costus root is used for treating worm (nematode) infections.Costus oil is used for asthma, cough, gas, and severe intestinal diseases such as dysentery and cholera. It is also used as a tonic and to stimulate digestion.In foods and beverages, costus oil is used as a flavoring component.In manufacturing, costus oil is used as a fixative and fragrance in cosmetics.