Spice and herb, parts of various plants cultivated for their aromatic, pungent, or otherwise desirable substances. Spices and herbs consist of rhizomes, bulbs, barks, flower buds, stigmas, fruits, seeds, and leaves. They are commonly divided into the categories of spices, spice seeds, and herbs.
Spice seeds are the tiny aromatic fruits and oil-bearing seeds of herbaceous plants such as anise, caraway, cumin, fennel, poppy, and sesame. Herbs are the fresh or dried aromatic leaves of such plants like marjoram, mint, rosemary, and thyme. Spices, spice seeds, and herbs are employed as adjuncts to impart flavor and aroma or piquancy to foods. In the small quantities used to prepare culinary dishes, they have little nutritional value, but they stimulate the appetite, add zest to food, and enhance flavors.