GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

phorbin · 06-02-2009, 12:59 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible

In article , says...
phorbin wrote:
In article ,
says...

Is tea a herb? Just that, with apologies if it's not exactly OT.
Oh, there is one more thing: is 'herb' pronounced erb?

Tea is camellia sinensis and it is an herb.

I would not think it is a herb in the botanical sense as it has woody stems
and doesn't die down seasonally, it's a herb in the cullinary/medicinal
sense.

A fair point. OED lists the culinary/medicinal first and botanical
second.

Both pronunciations are correct.

There is no definitive answer to this one in an international forum. With
the "h" sounded is more common where I am, with it silent is likely to be
usage from a French language or dialectic background but that doesn't mean
it's wrong. In other places the silent form could be more common.

Around here, most of the people I know pronounce it erb. I was taught to
"put 'an' before herb because the h is silent."