[x] Plant Details :: Stevia, but more commonly known as sweet leaf, is a member of the sunflower family.
[x] Common Uses :: flavoring for meats, salads, omeletes, and vinegars. Also used in jellies and teas.
[x] Personal Use :: due to it being related to oregano, I have only ever used this herb for flavoring when I occasionally cook savory dishes.

This particular herb really is just for seasoning and doesn't have any real medical properties. My mother sometimes used the flower heads for crafts. Afraid I really do not have much to add on this particular herb.

[x] Plant Details :: Agastache atropurpurecens is known by many other common names including Korean Mint, Blue Licorice, and Purple Giant Hyssop. It typically blooms from July to September, so it was a pleasant surprise to find some still in the green houses.
[x] Common Uses :: cooking and tea making, but is also used as a medicinal and ornamental plant
[x] Personal Use :: I actually have not used this plant too much, but my grandmother used to use it often in ointments. She once told me that it was among the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine.

What I like best about this herb is the smell. The leaves and flowers have a mint-like scent, which is actually really nice in tea. I've only ever used it once - since I prefer sweet leaf's flavor - but it is pleasant. I've read that this plant is used in a Korean pancake dish called Jeon, which I've had once. Butterflies are attracted to this plant, so it is sort of relaxing to sit near them. Take in the minty scent and watch butterflies.

[x] Plant Details :: Helichrysum arenarium, also known as Immortelle or Everlasting, is a December holiday herb that represents 'life everlasting' and is a part of the sunflower family. It is found naturally in Eastern France to Denmark as well as on the mountains of Uzbekistan.
[x] Common Uses :: the flowers in teas and it can also be used for skincare. The plant also promotes new cell growth and the flowers are used in the treatment of gall bladder disorders.
[x] Personal Use :: my grandmother would use this plant for decorative purposes in December, but only once it had been dried. She would also use the flowers to make hand and facial creams because of its anti-wrinkle and skin hydration properties.

I actually have never used this herb myself, so I do not have much of a personal reflection other than what I have observed from my grandmother. I recognized the flower in the greenhouse because I helped her dry them in December. Now that I know they are in the greenhouse, I am tempted to try and brew some tea with them. Once thing that I find appealing about this plant is its meaning, life everlasting. Sometimes this flower is used in arrangements that we take to cemeteries.

[x] Plant Details :: Osmanthus fragrans, also known as sweet olive or tea olive, is an evergreen shrub or small tree that produces small orange flowers in late summer and autumn and are native to Asia.
[x] Common Uses :: it is mostly used in teas and jams, but it can also be used to protect clothes from insects
[x] Personal Use :: my mother used it often in jam

In Japan we call this plant 金木犀 kinmokusei and I never really thought about using it for anything other than its smell. Kinmokusei has always been my favorite part of autumn. It was sort of something that marked the official transition between summer and autumn. The scent is sort of a cross between ripe peaches and apricots, but even that doesn't begin to describe the scent. While it is nice in teas, jams, and other such things...I sort of prefer to just sit under them come autumn and enjoy the smell of the flowers.

[x] Plant Details :: Burdock refers to a group of biennial thistles that are used for medicinal and culinary uses and also gave inspiration to the creation of velcro.
[x] Common Uses :: often use for digestive and appetite aid and mainly the root portion of the plant is used
[x] Personal Use :: burdock was always used to make burdock salad and other dishes in my home. Sometimes we would thinly slice it and dry it to make chips.

My favorite way to use this herb is to make something called gobo salad. My brothers and I used to make it all the time with carrots and a mayonnaise based dressed with sesame seeds. The root is mainly used, but grandfather sometimes spoke about using leaves for some medical practices...but I unfortunately never really paid too much attention. The seeds are also useful too I've read, mainly in regards to helping cure skin diseases. I don't know much about its medical uses, but I do know that it is rather delicious to eat.

[x] Plant Details :: Trifolium pratense, more commonly known as red clover, is a perennial plant native to Europe, Western Asia and northwest Africa
[x] Common Uses :: it is commonly used to purify the blood but can also be used to provide relief from coughs and bronchitis. It is primarily used for medical purposes and not culinary.
[x] Personal Use :: I actually have no personal use with this herb, unless you count making chain necklaces and headbands

I never really thought about clover as a herb until I found it in my textbook. It had always just been a plant that I used to play with and not anything more than that. You can imagine my surprise when I read that this particular plant can be used for a variety of medicinal purposes, such as the treatment of bronchitis, burns, cancers, ulcers, sedation, and asthma - among other things. It is also used in an eight-herb essiac tea which I would rather like to try someday.

[x] Plant Details :: a rose is a woody perennial flowering plant with over 100 species.
[x] Common Uses :: mainly roses are used for decoration and their scent for perfumes, but also in medicines (namely rose hip) and the petals are used in teas.
[x] Personal Use :: I often use the petals in teas and then the rose hips for jam. My grandfather once taught me how to make rose petal honey. When roses bloom, you just drop their petals into a wide-mouth jar and pour honey over them and let them sit for however long you want - or however long you can wait.

Roses are one of those plants that you don't usually think of as a herb. I think that maybe this has to do with how colorful they are. At least my image of herbs are that they are all shades of green and brown, so something as colorful as a rose sort of slips out of the radar. Still, roses can be used in supplements and rose hips are a minor source of Vitamin C and in 2012 were given the title of International Herb of the Year.

[x] Plant Details :: this is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed. Ther difference between oatstraw and oats is in their nutritive properties. Oatstraw is lower in calories and higher in Vitamin A (carotenes) and Vitamin C, than the grain alone.
[x] Common Uses :: oatmeal and teas
[x] Personal Use :: I actually have no real personal experience with oatstraw...besides it appearing in my oatmeal in the Great Hall

I've read that oatstraw nourishes strong nerves, helps people deal with stress (Vitamin B complex), and also helps maintain restful sleep patterns. Seems like the right sort of herb to use to make tea this term. I think I might start drinking a cup every night until I am done with my NEWTs.

[x] Plant Details :: known as Herb-of-Grace, rue is a perennial plant native to the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe
[x] Common Uses :: it is often used as a decorative plant and its bitter leaves are sometime added to salads, sandwiches, and vinegar.
[x] Personal Use :: I personally have no experience with this plant

This herb is, unfortunately to a certain extent, a herb that I have to reply completely on information in books to understand its uses. According to my research, rue is used in Brazil as the key ingredient in homemade herbal cough syrups. When this happens it is mashed with caramelized sugar and honey, which actually sounds sort of delicious. It is sort of ironic that despite its medical benefits, exposure to it causes Phytophotodermatitis that then makes the skin burst out in burn-like blisters on the skin. Suppose you should always wear dragonhide gloves when dealing with this plant.

[x] Plant Details :: also referred to as the starflower, this is a plant that produces edible flowers.
[x] Common Uses :: The plant is used primarily for culinary and medicinal uses, abut commercial cultivation is mainly as an oilseed
[x] Personal Use :: I often used the flowers at home in salads...or I would just eat them with my brothers while picking them. Mother would sometimes freeze them in ice cubes and then put them in drinks as an edible decoration.

After a bit of digging in the library, I also found out that this plant has some very beneficial medical properties. It can help with hyperactive gastrointestinal, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders along with helping with the regulation of one's metabolism and the hormonal system. Definately a flower that us girls should take into consideration.

[x] Plant Details :: Marjoram, which is synonymous with oregano in Middle Eastern countries, is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavors
[x] Common Uses :: flavoring for meats, salads, omeletes, vinegars. Also used jellies and teas.
[x] Personal Use :: due to it being related to oregano, I have only ever used this herb for when I occasionally cook savory dishes.

This is one of those herbs that really does seem to just be used for culinary purposes and doesn't have any medicinal ones. My other sometimes used the flower heads for crafts and flower arranging, but other than that it was not one that was used often. I'm afraid I really do not have anything further to offer on this particular herb.

[x] Plant Details :: flowering herbaceous plant with yellow button flowers whose leaves and flowers are toxic if consumed in large quantities
[x] Common Uses :: medicinal purposes, insect repellents, formerly used as a flavoring for puddings and omelets
[x] Personal Use :: I have no personal experience with this herb

Due to a serious lack of experience with this herb, I once again had to rely on books for information. This little herb has quite a history and is a very useful one! It can be used as an organic insecticide. It was also packed into coffins, wrapped in funeral winding sheets, and tansy wreaths were sometimes placed on the dead as a worm warding type of embalming. It was even used during the American colonial period on meats to repel insects and delay spoilage. Usage of this herb goes as far back as the ancient Greeks in the 8th century. From a historical perspective, I find this herb to be fascinating and I rather wish that I had come across it sooner.

[x] Plant Details :: Peppermint is a cross between cross watermint and spearmint, which makes it a hybrid mint and is typically found in moist environments. Interesting to note is that because it is a hybrid it is incapable producing seeds and there for must reproduce vegetatively.
[x] Common Uses :: long time medicinal use as well as a flavoring agent
[x] Personal Use :: flavoring in teas, ice cream, confectionery and for it's smell

I have had A LOT of exposure to this particular herb ever since I was little. Mostly due to it being used in the teas my grandmother would make along with in cookie and other sweets recipes. I find it interesting that the aroma of peppermint has been found to enhance memory, which makes sense why mother was always crushing fresh peppermint and setting it beside me while I studied - something I still do today.

[x] Plant Details :: Marshmallow is a plant that is native to Africa and whose roots are most commonly used to make a confection. It has leaves that are soft and velvety on both sides and produces pale colored flowers
[x] Common Uses :: medicinal and ornamental while roots are used to make confectionery
[x] Personal Use :: None - unless you count eating marshmallows

I only ever knew that this plant had it's roots used to make marshmalllows - the fluffy white sweet that Selina taught me go wonderfully in hot cocoa. However, upon some further research I was surprised to see that the root has been used since the Middle Ages in the treatment of sore throats! The flowers are also sometimes boiled and added to salads as a sort of colorful edible treat. I personally like the root being turned into marshmallow fluff. Selina has made me a fan.

[x] Plant Details :: deciduous shrub found in eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Ohio, and south to North Carolina. It produces berries that are important for Yellow-rumped Warblers.
[x] Common Uses :: wax candles and scent
[x] Personal Use :: none

I purchased a candle made from this berry last Hogsmeade visit and it was a fantastic smell! I can see why this this plant is used for it's scent. I also like that this particular plant is important to the ecosystem and is important to a specific species of birds. Makes you come to appreciate nature so much more when you see the way things are interconnected.

[x] Plant Details :: this flowering perennial plant is native to Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. It often lies flat on the ground and produces small white flowers.
[x] Common Uses :: flavoring agent
[x] Personal Use :: moth deterrent

Grandmother used to dry these and keep them in the closet to keep moths away and mother picked up the habit from her as well. I will admit, in the winter months I do this at Hogwarts as well. However, I have read that you can also use this plant in ice cream and a herbal tea for a gentle sedative effect. Maybe I should use this more in tea to help me sleep at night now that the term is coming to a close and...I am a little apprehensive about leaving. However, you need to be careful with how much of this plant you use too much of it it can cause headaches and, in extreme cases, comas. So...maybe I will just stick to using it to keep moths away.