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 What are herbs and what is herbalism?

From a holistic perspective, a herb is a plant in relationship with humanity, and herbalism becomes the exploration of humanities relationship with the plant kingdom.

Is there a difference? Herbs are different things to different people, with definitions varying according to area of interest and personal bias. What then is Herbalism? The lack of clarity reflects the changing fortunes of herbalism in English speaking cultures over the centuries. At one time Herbalism was an honorable profession that laid foundations for modern medicine, botany, pharmacy, perfumery and chemistry, but as these developed and our cultures infatuation with technology and reductionism took over, herbalism was relegated to the history books or pleasantly quaint country crafts. This left a word with a variety of uses but without a cultural core. As herbalism develops afresh in what has been called the Herbal Renaissance, it is time for this little word can be reclaimed.


Botany views herbs as non-woody plants, that is they do not contain woody lignin fibres. Dorlands Medical Dictionary similarly defines an herb as a plant whose stems are soft and perishable, and which are supported chiefly by turgor pressure. The science of Ecology, the study of the interrelationships between plants, animals and the environment, has a very specific use of the word herb. In descriptions of complex communities such a forest, herbs are plants that are less than 12 inches high that live their life cycles in the herb layer. This would suggest that trees and shrubs such as Sarsaparilla and Cramp Bark are not herbs.

The culinary arts have explored the use of plants in many delicious ways, but usually restricting what is called a herb to those plants that smell and taste wonderful. These are usually plants rich in pleasantly aromatic volatile oils such as Basil, Peppermint or Oregano. No self-respecting chef would think of creating culinary delights with Stinking Iris (Iris foetidimus), Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetida) or Golden Seal (Hydrastis canadensis)! This does not mean they are not herbs, simply that they dont taste good.

In the various branches of medicine, the word usually implies plants that are sources for healing remedies, either in their crude form or as sources of physiologically active chemicals. This can lead towards to only physiologically potent plants being recognized as herbs, ignoring the gentle tonic remedies. From the perspective of the Medical Herbalist, a herb is any plant material that may be used in the field of health and wholeness. This may be a herb in the strictly botanical sense with a remedy such as White Horehound ( Marrubium vulgare) , or a part of a plant as in the flowers of Marigold (Calendula officinalis), the heart wood of the Lignum Vitae tree (Guaiacum officinale), the seeds of Chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus) or the roots of Cone flower (Echinacea angustifolia). .

If the holistic context is taken in its broadest sense, then a herb is a plant in relationship with humanity and herbalism becomes the study and exploration of the interaction between humanity and the plant kingdom. Such a stance highlights the range and depth of human dependence on plants. This relationship is at the core of agriculture, forestry, carpentry, construction, clothing, medicine and so on.

Medical Herbalism is thriving today, using whole plants to treat whole people, facilitating the healing process within the framework of holistic medicine. It is both an art and science.
A new understanding of health is appearing. Such a change is both in attitude and approach, and is often referred to as Holistic Medicine. This is a small part of a massive shift in the way we see ourselves and the issues that affect us. This has been called a paradigm shift; a change in the patterns of belief and perception that our culture has about itself. Such a shift has happened many times before. From the vantage point of history the transformation of society from the medieval world view to that we now call the renaissance is strikingly clear. 

For a holistic practitioner there is a recognition of the social and economic conditions that perpetuate ill health, A commitment to change these factors is as much part of holistic medicine as is the emphasis individual responsibility.
Taking all this together clearly shows why holistic medicine transforms its practitioners as well as its patients! Herbal medicine fits well into this emerging holistic paradigm. It is a healing technique that is inherently in tune with nature, and has been described as ecological healing because of its basis in the shared ecological and evolutionary heritage with the plant kingdom that herbal remedies work.

Medicine is used here to mean anything which is taken for healing purposes. Such approaches include Medical Herbalism, Homeopathy, Naturopathy and drug based Allopathic Medicine. All have in common use of some form level medicine that is taken into the body to achieve the therapeutic goal. The specific vary, of course, but all such medicines can be seen as fruits of the Earth. Whether an herb or synthesized drug, they share a common origin in the physical world.


Spiritual factors in human healing are becoming increasingly recognized by materialistic western medicine. There are meditative and prayer based techniques where the person aligns their being with higher spirit, or those where a practitioner works with the energy body of a patient. Some openness to spirituality is vital, and it might take the form of the upliftment of a sunset, being touched by poetry or art, belief in a religion or simply a dogma free joy in being alive.

Holism tells us to focus on an individuals unique situation and not simply treat a diagnosed disease syndrome. In the context of this therapeutic ecology, it may be that one person diagnosed with colitis might recuperate best when treated with dietary advice, herbs and osteopathic manipulation whilst for another it could be drugs, psychoanalysis and surgery. Practitioners will have their firmly held opinions of the pros and cons concerning one approach or another, but the patient is always more important than their doctors belief system.

With the rapidly changing situation amongst of the healing professions, it would be a mistake to talk of Medical Herbalism as a form of alternative medicine. Is it an alternative to Acupuncture, Osteopathy or Psychiatry? Of course not, they complement each other, creating a complex of relationships where the whole is much more than the sum of the parts. In light of the unique strengths and weaknesses each approach offers, mutual support and co-operation is the way forward towards a truly holistic health service. All medical modalities are complementary within the perspective of the patients needs.

Health service administrators will appreciate the economic savings gleaned from a lessening of dependence upon costly medical technology. A proportion of procedures and treatments that currently utilize expensive drugs or surgery will be undertaken by more appropriate techniques from another healing modality. For example, most run of the mill gall-bladder removals could be avoided by using herbs or homeopathic remedies, and some expensive orthopedic techniques could be replaced with skilled osteopathy.

Medical Herbalism will take its place at the heart of a future national holistic health service. It is not only an effective medical system, it holds out the hope of great rewards for society if embraced as a modality within an array of health care services.
The herbalist by David Hoffman, (c)1993 David Hoffman, Hopkins Technology

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