Botanical Accuracy: Mixed herbs - a trip out in the botanical unknown

Monday, November 10, 2014

Mixed herbs - a trip out in the botanical unknown

Baraka Mixed Herbs. (c) BotanicalAccuracy.com

A few days ago I found a very interesting bag of plant materials for sale in the local food market - a bag with dried plants marked MIXED herbs. It might be a herbal tea, a spice mixture, I am not sure. Looking closer I was wondering what the actual ingredients were, and looked for the ingredient label.

Baraka Mixed Herbs. (c) BotanicalAccuracy.com

And there is was: "Ingredients: Mixed herbs". But which ones? Good ones, tasty ones, toxic ones, allergen ones? There is no way to know. The photo shows sage, ox eye daisy (presumably), and a hibiscus, plus a purple-flowered Lamiaceae. You can find out that the dried plant parts are from Jordan, but not what species they are. Some of the parts look like Hibiscus flowers, but can you be sure?

Baraka Mixed Herbs Nutrition Facts and Ingredient List. (c) BotanicalAccuracy.com

Now, this is of course against any FDA rules when it comes to labeling of foods. All things that are sold that we eat has to be labeled with exact ingredients and nutrition information. So, here the customers and consumers are kept in the dark... this bag can contain exactly what is says: Mixed herbs of unknown kinds.

What is Botanical Accuracy?

Would you care if someone called a cat 'a mouse' in the description of a medieval painting?

Would you care if someone served you horse meat, but said it was beef? I bet you would.

Would you care if the wrong chemical was listed in the ingredient list of your shampoo or cereal?

Would you care if you bought one plant, but got another?

Would you care if there were species or ingredient mistakes in advertising, menus, herbal pills, and such things?

Would you care if books on plants are illustrated with the wrong plants?

If so, here is the place for you to read about such problems in the world of plants and plant products, where unfortunately such mistakes, inaccuracies, and problems are not uncommon. This is usually due to lack of botanical knowledge or expertise, or sometimes because of plain ignorance.

Inaccuracies are common when it comes to plants, because it seems like we humans care to learn less about green things like trees, flowers, and herbs than we care to learn about animals, even when we eat plants, paint them, plant them, extract their chemicals, or use them in numerous other ways.

Without plants in the world you and I certainly would be dead. Some plants can also kill you with their toxins, so it is best to know which plant is what species. Time to learn some botany!

About mistakes, inaccuracies, and errors

Science is a process of gaining knowledge and understanding of the world around us. It is a never-ending process, and what we think are true facts today might change tomorrow. In science we are aiming for having the best understanding possible today based on what we and our predecessors have learned until now.

This means that what is botanically accurate from a scientific viewpoint might (and will) change. Other experts in the field of botany know a lot more about their particular research plants than I do. New scientific findings and conclusions are being published every day. This is just normal and part of the scientific process; we improve on our knowledge all the time.

The important thing is our willingness to continuously aim for botanical accuracy and the highest scientific standards in our use of names and facts. When things are wrong, let's correct them. Let us not perpetuate wrong botanical knowledge by accepting its incorrect use on commercial products, in everyday language, or in other parts of our contemporary cultures. Through scientific education and specific corrections we will improve botany and science for everybody, in supermarkets, restaurants, and garden centers.

It is the perpetuation of incorrect facts that are the problem, not the need for correction. Everybody makes mistakes, and everybody learns, throughout their lives. We need words to be able to communicate and talk about things, so let's use the right words and the right species names.

Undoubtedly there will be mistakes and errors on this blog, or things that need to be updated. If you want to get in touch, please e-mail me at botanicalaccuracy at gmail.com. If you see a mistake on this blog, e-mail me with the link to the post and an explanation what is incorrect and should be updated. If you represent a company and want to get in touch, please use the same e-mail address.