Artemisia dracunculus

Tarragon
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"Dragon's wort" redirects here. For other uses, see Dragonwort (disambiguation).

This article is about the perennial herb. For the 1999 power metal album, see Taragon. For the Canadian
theatre company, see Tarragon Theatre.

Artemisia dracunculus
L.

Tarragon or dragon's-wort (Artemisia dracunculus) is a perennial herb in the family

Asteraceae related to wormwood. Corresponding to its species name, a common term for the
plant is "dragon herb." It is native to a wide area of the Northern Hemisphere from easternmost
Europe across central and eastern Asia to India, western North America, and south to northern
Mexico. The North American populations may, however, be naturalised from early human
introduction.

Tarragon grows to 120–150 cm tall, with slender branched stems. The leaves are lanceolate, 2–
8 cm long and 2–10 mm broad, glossy green, with an entire margin. The flowers are produced in
small capitulae 2–4 mm diameter, each capitulum containing up to 40 yellow or greenish-yellow
florets. (French tarragon, however, seldom produces flowers.[1])
 Dried thyme.

Thyme
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For the Japanese band, see Thyme (band).

Thyme (pronounced /ˈtaɪm/; spelling pronunciation /ˈθaɪm/) is a well-known culinary and

medicinal herb. In common usage the name may refer to:

 any or all members of the plant genus Thymus

 common thyme, Thymus vulgaris, and some other species that are used as culinary herbs or for
medicinal purposes
 Thyme-like species such as Caribbean Thyme (Plectranthus amboinicus)[1]
Tansy
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Not to be confused with tansy ragwort or tansy mustard.

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant of the aster family that is
native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world and, in
some areas, has become invasive. It is also known as Common Tansy, Bitter Buttons, Cow
Bitter, Mugwort, or Golden Buttons.

The mugwort used in acupuncture as "moxa" is not this plant, but Artemisia vulgaris.

Tansy is a flowering herbaceous plant with finely divided compound leaves and yellow, button-
like flowers. It has a stout, somewhat reddish, erect stem, usually smooth, 50–150 cm tall, and
branching near the top. The leaves are alternate, 10—-15 cm long and are pinnately lobed,
divided almost to the center into about seven pairs of segments, or lobes, which are again divided
into smaller lobes having saw-toothed edges, thus giving the leaf a somewhat fernlike
appearance. The roundish, flat-topped, button-like, yellow flower heads are produced in terminal
clusters from mid-to-late summer. The scent is similar to that of camphor with hints of rosemary.
The leaves and flowers are said to be poisonous if consumed in large quantities. The plant’s
volatile oil is high in thujone, a substance found in absinthe that can cause convulsions. Some
insects, notably the Tansy beetle, have evolved resistance to Tansy and live almost exclusively on
it.
 Curcuma longa

Turmeric
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Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family,
Zingiberaceae.[2] It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20°C and
30°C, and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive.[3] Plants are gathered annually for
their rhizomes, and reseeded from some of those rhizomes in the following season.

The rhizomes are boiled for several hours and then dried in hot ovens, after which they are
ground into a deep orange-yellow powder commonly used as a spice in curries and other South
Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, for dyeing, and to impart color to mustard condiments. Its
active ingredient is curcumin and it has a distinctly earthy, slightly bitter, slightly hot peppery
flavor and a mustardy smell.

In medieval Europe, turmeric became known as Indian saffron, since it was widely used as an
alternative to the far more expensive saffron spice.[4]

Erode, a city in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is the world's largest producer and most
important trading center of turmeric in Asia. For these reasons, Erode in history is also known as
"Yellow City"[citation needed] or "Turmeric City".[citation needed] Sangli, a town in the southern part of the
Indian western state of Maharashtra, is the second largest and most important trading center for
turmeric in Asia.
 Ca
psicum frutescens var. 'tabasco'

Tabasco pepper

Tabasco pepper
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Tabasco Peppers (ripe and unripe)

Capsicum frutescens var. 'tabasco'

Tabasco pepper

The tabasco pepper is a variety of chili pepper species Capsicum frutescens. It is best known
through its use in Tabasco sauce, followed by peppered vinegar.

Like all C. frutescens cultivars, the tabasco plant has a typical bushy growth, which commercial
cultivation makes stronger by trimming the plants. The tapered fruits, around 4 cm long, are
initially pale yellowish-green and turn yellow and orange before ripening to bright red. Tabascos
rate from 30,000 to 50,000 on the Scoville scale of heat levels[1], and are the only variety of chili
pepper whose fruits are "juicy"; i.e., they are not dry on the inside. Unlike most chilis, tabasco
fruits grow up, rather than hanging down from their stems.

A large part of the tabasco pepper stock fell victim to the tobacco mosaic virus in the 1960s; the
first resistant variety (Greenleaf tabasco) was not cultivated until around 1970.[2]
Tamarind

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) (from Latinization of Arabic: ‫ تمر هندي‬tamar Hind "Indian Date") is a tree
in the family Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic (having only a single species).

The tamarind is a long-lived, medium-growth bushy tree which attains a maximum crown height
of 12.1 to 18.3 metres (40 to 60 feet). The crown has an irregular vase-shaped outline of dense
foliage. The tree grows well in full sun in clay, loam, sandy, and acidic soil types, with a high
drought and aerosol salt (wind-borne salt as found in coastal area) resistance.

Leaves are evergreen, bright green in colour, elliptical ovular, arrangement is alternate, of the
pinnately compound type, with pinnate venation and less than 5 cm (2 inches) in length. The
branches droop from a single, central trunk as the tree matures and is often pruned in human
agriculture to optimize tree density and ease of fruit harvest. At night, the leaflets close up.

The tamarind does flower, though inconspicuously, with red and yellow elongated flowers.
Flowers are 2.5 cm wide (one inch) five-petalled borne in small racemes, yellow with orange or
red streaks. Buds are pink as the 4 sepals are pink and are lost when the flower blooms.

The fruit is an indehiscent legume, sometimes called a pod, 12 to 15 cm (3 to 6 inches) in length
with a hard, brown shell.[4][5][6] The fruit has a fleshy, juicy, acidulous pulp. It is mature when the
flesh is coloured brown or reddish-brown. The tamarinds of Asia have longer pods containing 6-
12 seeds, whereas African and West Indian varieties have short pods containing 1-6 seeds. The
seeds are somewhat flattened, and glossy brown.

The tamarind is best described as sweet and sour in taste, and high in acid, sugar, vitamin B and,
interestingly for a fruit, calcium.