Herb

Herb flowering plant whose stem above ground does not become woody and persistent. It is relatively short lived; generally small, seasonal or annual. The tissues are comparatively soft, fleshy and delicate. Herbs are the pioneering plants of any habitat. Almost all pulses and oil-yielding plants are herbaceous. In Bangladesh almost all terrestrial habitats and shallow aquatic wetlands are covered with herbaceous plants. At least 60% flowering plants that grow in the country are herbaceous in nature. Grasses and sedges are dominating herbs.

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  Herbs: Echinochloa sp

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  Herbs: Eleusine sp

Herbaceous creepers/climbers cover almost all bushy wastelands. The most common such climbers are cucurbits, asclepiads and convolvulous plants. Majority of vegetables, medicinal plants, food plants, oil-yielding plants, spices, and annual ornamental and garden plants are herbs. Herbs constitute the dominant weeds of cultivated fields. [Mostafa Kamal Pasha]

See also herbal medicine; medicinal plant.