''Officinalis'', ''officinale'', or occasionally ''officinarum'' is a

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

denoting

organism An organism is any life, living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have be ...

s—mainly plants—with uses in medicine,

herbalism Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

, manufacturing, and cookery. It commonly occurs as a

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

, the second term of a two-part botanical name. ''Officinalis'' is used to modify masculine and feminine nouns, while ''officinale'' is used for neuter nouns.

Etymology

The word literally means 'of or belonging to an ', the storeroom of a monastery, where medicines and other necessaries were kept. was a contraction of , from ( gen. ) 'worker, maker, doer' (from 'work') + , , 'one who does', from 'do, perform'. When

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

invented the binomial system of nomenclature, he gave the specific name ''officinalis'', in the 1735 (1st Edition) of his , to plants (and sometimes animals or fungi) with an established medicinal, culinary, or other use.Pearn J.,"On 'officinalis' the names of plants as one enduring history of therapeutic medicine. ''Vesalius''. 2010 Dec;Suppl:24-8 Authors:

Species

*'' Alpina officinarum'' (Galangal) *''

Althaea officinalis ''Althaea officinalis'', the marsh mallow or marshmallow, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, which is used in herbalism and as an ornamental plant. Description This herbaceous perennial plant, ...

'' (Marshmallow) *''

Anchusa officinalis ''Anchusa officinalis'', also knowns as common bugloss or common alkanet, is a species of flowering plant in the borage family. It is native to Europe and small parts of western Asia, but has been escaped from cultivation to grow in additional lo ...

'' (Bugloss) *'' Asparagus officinalis'' (Asparagus) *'' Avicennia officinalis'' (Mangrove) *'' Betonica officinalis'' (Betony) syn. '' Stachys officinalis'' *'' Bistorta officinalis'' (European Bistort) *''

Borago officinalis Borage ( or ; ''Borago officinalis''), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae native to the Mediterranean region. Although the plant contains small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, some parts ar ...

'' (Borage) *''

Buddleja officinalis ''Buddleja officinalis'' is a deciduous early-spring flowering shrub native to west Hubei, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces in China.Phillips, R. & Rix, M. (1989). ''Shrubs''. Pan Books, London. Discovered in 1875 by Pavel Piasetski,Bryce, W. J. (2 ...

'' (Pale Butterflybush) *''

Calendula officinalis ''Calendula officinalis'', Mary's gold, common marigold, the pot marigold, Scotch marigold, or ruddles, is a flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is probably native plant, native to southern Europe, but its long history of cultivat ...

'' (Pot Marigold) *''

Cinchona officinalis ''Cinchona officinalis'' is a South American tree in the family Rubiaceae. It is native to wet montane forests in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, between 1600–2700 meters above sea level. Description ''Cinchona officinalis'' is a shrub ...

'' (Quinine) *'' Cochlearia officinalis'' (Scurvygrass) *'' Corallina officinalis'' (Coral Weed (seaweed)) *''

Cornus officinalis ''Cornus officinalis'', the Japanese cornel or Japanese cornelian cherry, is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae. Despite its name, it is native to China and Korea as well as Japan. It is not to be confused with '' C. mas ...

'' (Cornelian Cherry) *'' Cyathula officinalis'' (Oxe knee) *'' Cynoglossum officinale'' (Houndstongue) *'' Euphrasia officinalis'' (Eyebright) *'' Fumaria officinalis'' (Fumitory) *''

Galega officinalis ''Galega officinalis'', commonly known as galega or goat's-rue, is a herbaceous plant in the subfamily Faboideae of the legume Family (biology), family Fabaceae. It is native species, native to parts of northern Africa, western Asia and Europe, ...

'' (Goat's Rue) *'' Gratiola officinalis'' (Hedge Hyssop) *'' Guaiacum officinale'' (''lignum vitae'') *'' Hyssopus officinalis'' (Hyssop) *''

Jasminum officinale ''Jasminum officinale'', known as the common jasmine or simply jasmine, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family (biology), family Oleaceae. It is native to the Caucasus and parts of Asia, also widely naturalized. It is also known ...

'' (Jasmine) *'' Laricifomes officinalis'' (Quinine Conk) *'' Lavandula officinalis'' (English Lavender) syn. '' Lavandula angustifolia'' *''

Levisticum officinale Lovage ( ; ''Levisticum officinale'') is a perennial plant, the sole species in the genus ''Levisticum'' in the family Apiaceae, subfamily Apioideae. It has been long cultivated in Europe and the leaves are used as a herb, the roots as a vegeta ...

'' (Lovage) *'' Lithospermum officinale'' (Gromwell) *''

Magnolia officinalis ''Magnolia officinalis'' (commonly called houpu magnolia or magnolia bark) is a species of ''Magnolia'' native to the mountains and valleys of China at altitudes of 300–1500 m. It is a deciduous tree up to 20 m tall with broad, fragrant whit ...

'' *''

Melilotus officinalis ''Melilotus officinalis'', known as sweet yellow clover, yellow melilot, ribbed melilot and common melilot, is a species of legume native to Eurasia and introduced in North America, Africa, and Australia. Description ''Melilotus officinalis'' ca ...

'' (Ribbed Melilot) *'' Melissa officinalis'' (Lemon Balm) *'' Morinda officinalis'' (Indian Mulberry) *''

Nasturtium officinale Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Eurasia. It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetab ...

'' (Watercress) *''

Paeonia officinalis ''Paeonia officinalis'', the common peony, or garden peony, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Paeoniaceae, native plant, native to mainly mountainous areas of Southern Europe and introduced in Central Europe, Centra ...

'' (Common Paeony) *'' Parietaria officinalis'' (Pellitory of the Wall) *'' Pilosella officinarum'' (Mouse-Ear) *'' Pimenta officinalis'' (Allspice) syn. '' Pimenta dioica'' *'' Pulmonaria officinalis'' (Lungwort) *'' Rheum officinale'' (Rhubarb) *''

Rosa gallica ''Rosa gallica'', the Gallic rose, French rose, or rose of Provins, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, native to southern and central Europe eastwards to Turkey and the Caucasus. ''Rosa gallica'' was one of the first species of ...

'' 'Officinalis' (Apothecary Rose) *'' Rosmarinus officinalis'' (Rosemary) syn. '' Salvia rosmarinus'' *''

Salvia officinalis ''Salvia officinalis'', the common sage or sage, is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region, though it ...

'' (Garden Sage) *'' Sanguisorba officinalis'' (Great Burnet) *'' Saponaria officinalis'' (Soapwort) *'' Scindapsus officinalis'' (Long Pepper) *'' Senega officinalis'' (Senega) syn. '' Polygala senega'' *''

Sepia officinalis The common cuttlefish or European common cuttlefish (''Sepia officinalis'') is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of du ...

'' (Cuttlefish) *'' Sisymbrium officinale'' (Hedge Mustard) *''

Spongia officinalis ''Spongia officinalis'', better known as a variety of bath sponge, is a commercially used sea sponge. Individuals grow in large lobes with small openings and are formed by a mesh of primary and secondary fibers. It is light grey to black in color ...

'' (Bath Sponge) *'' Styrax officinalis'' (Drug Snowbell) *'' Symphytum officinale'' (Comfrey) *''

Taraxacum officinale ''Taraxacum officinale'', the dandelion or common dandelion, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The common dandelion is well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of many silver-tuf ...

'' (Dandelion) *'' Valeriana officinalis'' (Valerian) *'' Verbena officinalis'' (Vervain) *'' Veronica officinalis'' (Speedwell) *'' Zingiber officinale'' (Ginger)

References

{{reflist Taxonomy (biology) Latin biological phrases

Etymology

Species

See also

References