shrubabbaby
shrubry
shurubaby
this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2026
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The other side of this coin is that the banana is the largest herb; the banana tree is the tallest plant that doesn't produce wood
Of course mixing up culinary and botany meanings deliberately is dumb and leads to people saying things like "a tomato is a fruit" and "a strawberry isn't a berry" those people can go produce their own wood if you know what I mean
A strawberry isn't a berry. It's just small and has it in the name. It doesn't even look like a berry.
Also a banana isn't an herb. Just the banana tree is. The banana is a berry.
aren't herbs
What on Earth is that bird's definition of an "herb"? A pretty uncontroversial definition from Wikipedia:
Herbs generally refers to the leafy green or flowering parts of a plant (either fresh or dried), while spices are usually dried and produced from other parts of the plant, including seeds, bark, roots and fruits.
And what the goddamn hell is "true wood" supposed to distinguish? Do plants grow the faux wood that I can buy at Lowe's? Rosemary is a woody shrub and, like basil, is in the family Lamiaceae with a bunch of other herbs.
"Shrubs" and "herbs" are not mutually exclusive (and basil isn't a shrub – a woody perennial – anyway). wtaf is the logic here; there's pedantry, and then there's fucking nonsense pulled out of thin air.
Edit: Wait, is the comic talking about herbaceous plants (shortened in botany as “herbs”)? Because in that case, 1) that’s not news in botanical terms for rosemary, 2) basil is an herbaceous annual, 3) why did it single out rosemary and basil if it didn’t mean to imply a culinary sense, and 4) still what the hell did it mean by “true wood”? It’s simultaneously less and more confusing.
And what the goddamn hell is “true wood” supposed to distinguish?
I suppose if it contains lignin, it's really wood, otherwise it just kinda looks like wood at best. If it's real wood, most animals, with a few exceptions here and there, cannot directly digest it.
I suppose if it contains lignin, it’s really wood
I appreciate you trying to fill in the gaps that the comic leaves with its abject, ignorant nonsense masquerading as pedantry, but wood is more complicated than just the presence of lignin.
Otherwise, oops, wheat is wood.
Sub-shrub
So I should put them on sandwiches? 🤔
If the bread is still connected on your sub, is it technically a hotdog?
Does this suggest the existence of dom-shrubs?
Nnnnnnn..... yes?
True wood, indeed.
Absolutely. Basil with tomato, mozzarella, some spinach if you want to bulk it up and get more nutrients, and a balsamic glaze.
You rang?
Wait, basil?
Rosemary, I get (and also thyme, btw), but basil? At best, the dried out stalks of a basil can look a bit woody, but that's true for a lot of plants.
When Basil matures, especially after it flowers it gets pretty woody
Everyone in here talking about science and my stupid ass thought this was a reference to the song Scarborough fair