An archaic term for herb, especially to indicate herbs used for food or medicine. Often combined with another word to indicate that use of the herb, such as St. John’s Wort, Feverwort, Kidneywort, etc.
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Sandra Kynes, author of several books, including The Herb Gardener's Essential Guide, Plant Magic, and the new Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical Plants, among many others.
Although a few old books...