A herb (pronounced ûrb in American English and hûrb in British English) is a plant grown for culinary or medicinal value. Typically, the green, leafy part of the plant is used. By contrast, spices are the seeds, berries, bark, or other parts of the plant. Herbs are distinguished from vegetables in that they are used in small quantities and provide flavor rather than substance to food.
In botany, a herb is a plant that does not produce a woody stem, or is a plant that dies back to the ground at the end of the growing season. The term herbaceous means either having the characteristic of a herb or being leaf-like in color and texture.
"The herb" is also a slang term for cannabis.
