Many Herbs are included in These Four Families

Classification Of Herbs From The Farmers' Bulletin No. 1977
U.S. Department of Agriculture
"Botanists classify the savory herbs under several families. The principal families are the Labiatae, or mint family; the Umbelliferae, or parsley family; the Compositae, or aster family; and the Liliaceae, or lily family. All are classified according to their flower structure and other botanical characteristics. The great majority fall into the first two families named. It will be of interest to the gardener to learn to recognize the herbs of the different families. This is easily done by observing certain definite characteristics common to all plants of the family, as described below.

Mint Family (Labiatae)
Plants of the mint family have square stems with opposite aromatic leaves. The flowers are arranged in clusters at the base of the uppermost leaves or in terminal spikes. The individual flowers have two lips, the upper ones two-lobed and the lower three-lobed. Each flower produces, when mature, four small seedlike structures. The foliage is dotted with small glands containing the volatile or essential oil that gives to the plant its aroma and flavor. Some of the herbs belonging to this family are mints, basil, thyme, marjoram, savory, balm, sage, and rosemary.

Parsley Family (Umbelliferae)
The herbs of the parsley family have small flowers formed in umbels, like dill (see fig. 4), at the tops of the hollow stems. The leaves are alternate and finely divided, and the fruit forms in two parts, which separate when mature into two dry seedlike sections. These sections, commonly called seeds, have five prominent and sometimes four smaller ribs or ridges running lengthwise. The so-called seeds contain an aromatic oil that makes them valuable as flavoring agents. Usually the leaves and other parts of the plants contain the aromatic flavor also, but in smaller quantity than the fruits. Some aromatic plants belonging to this family are anise, caraway, celery, coriander, chervil, dill, fennel, lovage, and parsley.

Aster Family (Compositae)
Plants of the large aster family are recognized by their flowers, which are borne in composite heads like the daisy and sunflower. The small individual flowers form on a common receptacle surrounded by leaflike bracts or scales. The flower head is generally made up of a central disk composed of many small flowers with very small petals or short tubular corollas. There is often an outer ring of ray flowers with long strap-shaped corollas (sometimes miscalled "petals"). Only a few of the savory herbs, including tarragon, the various wormwoods, and costmary, belong to this family.

Lily Family (Liliaceae)
The lily family is composed chiefly of herbs with bulbous or enlarged root systems and annual stems. It is made up of 13 tribes, or subfamilies, each with its particular distinguishing characteristics. All plants of this family have regular symmetrical six-parted flowers. The fruit usually forms a three-celled berry or pod with few to many seeds. The leaves are generally slender, either flat or tubular, with veins running lengthwise. The savory herbs of this family belong to the allium, or onion, group. They are strong-scented and pungent, with long, slender strap-shaped or tubular leaves clasping the flower stalk, which rises from a bulb at its base. The flowers are borne in simple umbels, many of them forming bulblets. The most important herbs of this group with flavoring qualities are chive, leek, garlic, and onion."