herbologiumPLANTS · FOOD · INHERITANCE
My box

A NOTE FROM THE COLLECTION

A place for
what we keep

Plants, food, and the knowledge we pass from one pair of hands to another.

Someone learned it.
Someone kept it.
Someone passed it on.

How the collection began
FROM THE HERBARIUM
AI-generated ingredient still life of fresh basil leaves in an ivory dish on Taj Mahal quartzite.

Basil — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

A little knowledge, worth keeping.

01 / THE BEGINNING

A continuing
curiosity.

Plants, food, and questions worth following.

Evelyna Bellamy originally planned to major in nutritional science and completed a minor in it instead. That continuing interest helped shape Herbologium.

Herbologium brings that curiosity together with plants, food, ancestral knowledge, and the stories people tell about the things they grow and eat. The collection gives those questions a place beside one another, with paths back to the sources.

The familiar little box of handwritten recipes gave the collection its shape: useful things tucked behind dividers, a note beside an ingredient, something kept because someone might need it again.

Here, there is room for a botanical reference, a recipe, a documented belief, and a research paper. Each keeps its own author and context. Evelyna's role is the site founder and collection curator; that role does not make her the author, photographer, researcher, or recipe tester of the source material.

Source summaries and site copy were prepared with AI assistance. Original quotations, recipe text, images, and research retain their own credits. Read about editorial preparation →

Site founder & collection curator: Evelyna Bellamy

More about Evelyna

02 / THE QUESTIONS

Four drawers.
A wider world between them.

You can begin with an ingredient, a memory, a place, or a question. The connections give you somewhere to go next.

What is this plant?

Names, families, useful parts, and a closer look.

Herbarium

How do we bring it to the table?

Recipes, preparations, and the ways people bring plants to the table.

Kitchen

What stories have grown around it?

Recorded customs, literature, and beliefs in their own contexts.

Plant Lore

What can the evidence tell us?

Biological questions and research readings, with their limits attached.

Body

How does the story change with place?

People, regional food traditions, and the sources that connect them.

Atlas

03 / WHAT WE INHERIT

Recipes, stories,
and questions.

Inheritance opens several kinds of inquiry here. Each deserves its own way of being read.

From one kitchen to another

A remembered method, a grower’s name, a substitution made after a move. Family knowledge is kept with the person, place, and uncertainty that belong to it.

Across communities and places

Regional food traditions are introduced through particular accounts. We ask who recorded them, whose knowledge is represented, and what that source leaves out.

Questions about the body

Biological inheritance and nutrition have their own research questions. Here, ancestry is an invitation to investigate evidence; the collection does not turn it into a personal meal prescription.

04 / TRY A CONNECTION

Start with a clove of garlic.

One familiar ingredient. Four different kinds of reading. Each card keeps its source and the question it can help answer.

  1. 01 / The plant

    Garlic

    Begin with the bulb and its botanical name.

    Open the card
  2. 02 / The kitchen

    Lentil soup with tomato and basil

    Find garlic among the ingredients in a pot of soup.

    Open the card
  3. 03 / The account

    A garlic clove carried from home

    Read one recorded protective custom, with its source.

    Open the card
  4. 04 / The research

    Garlic & blood lipids

    Examine a trial’s preparation, participants, and limits.

    Open the card

These are connected readings, each with a different scope. The soup and research paper do not test the meaning of the recorded custom.

Set garlic on the study table

05 / THE ARTWORK

Every picture has an origin.

Imagined ingredient studies, a decorative rosemary illustration, and original ingredient symbols accompany the readings. Their origins and the earlier archival references stay within reach.

AI-generated ingredient still life of garlic bulbs and cloves on Taj Mahal quartzite beside flax linen.

Garlic — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

Imagined for the table

These ingredient still lifes were created with OpenAI image generation, using Taj Mahal stone, linen, and natural-light styling. They are illustrations, not photographs or plant-identification guides.

Decorative watercolor study of a rosemary sprig with slender leaves and pale violet flowers.

Rosemary · generated decorative study

AI-generated for Herbologium · Herbologium · AI-generated decorative artwork

View the source record ↗

Image source: https://herbologium.com/about#artwork · Original decorative illustration generated with OpenAI ImageGen. Not a historical plate or a plant-identification diagram.

Made for this collection

The rosemary study was generated with OpenAI ImageGen. It is credited as contemporary decorative artwork.

Maize, tea & tepary bean · Herbologium

Drawn as small companions

Original line symbols accompany pantry profiles and regional collections. Like the other artwork here, they are not plant-identification guides.

Credit & reuse
Full artwork catalogue12 illustrations · makers, collections & source records
AI-generated ingredient still life of small-leaved thyme sprigs on Taj Mahal quartzite beside flax linen.

Thyme — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

AI-generated ingredient still life of feathery dill fronds on an ivory platter beside flax linen.

Dill — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

AI-generated ingredient still life of flat-leaf parsley on an ivory platter on Taj Mahal quartzite.

Parsley — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

AI-generated ingredient still life of serrated spearmint leaves on an ivory dish beside flax linen.

Spearmint — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

AI-generated ingredient still life of whole golden onions and a halved onion on Taj Mahal quartzite.

Onion — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

AI-generated ingredient still life of ginger rhizomes and pale yellow slices on Taj Mahal quartzite.

Ginger — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

AI-generated ingredient still life of whole green-brown and split red lentils in ivory bowls with a brass spoon.

Lentil — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

AI-generated ingredient still life of dry chickpeas in an ivory bowl with a brass spoon and flax linen.

Chickpea — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

AI-generated ingredient still life of rolled oats in an ivory bowl and dried oat panicles on Taj Mahal quartzite.

Oats — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

Decorative watercolor study of a rosemary sprig with slender leaves and pale violet flowers.

Rosemary study · 2026

AI-generated for Herbologium · Herbologium · AI-generated decorative artwork

View the source record ↗

Image source: https://herbologium.com/about#artwork · Original decorative illustration generated with OpenAI ImageGen. Not a historical plate or a plant-identification diagram.

AI-generated ingredient still life of fresh basil leaves in an ivory dish on Taj Mahal quartzite.

Basil — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

AI-generated ingredient still life of garlic bulbs and cloves on Taj Mahal quartzite beside flax linen.

Garlic — imagined ingredient study · OpenAI image generation · Herbologium art direction · AI-generated decorative artwork. Original AI-generated ingredient illustration, made for Herbologium with Taj Mahal quartzite, flax linen and soft natural-light styling. Not a photograph, botanical identification guide, or documentation of a historical custom. The domain mark identifies the collection; no human photographer is claimed. No blanket reuse license is stated. Source: https://herbologium.com/botanical-illustrations.json

Earlier botanical references & their credits

The historical records remain separately credited. They are not the source of the new ingredient illustrations.

  • Thymus vulgaris — Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, plate 58 ↗ · Individual illustrator unrecorded; published in Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen · Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · 1887 · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Thymus vulgaris — Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, plate 58 · Individual illustrator unrecorded; published in Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen · Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain · https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/303678
  • Anethum graveolens — Thomé's Flora, plate 378 ↗ · Walter Müller (plates credited at publication level) · Mertz Library, The New York Botanical Garden, via Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · 1888 · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Anethum graveolens — Thomé's Flora, plate 378 · Walter Müller (plates credited at publication level) · Mertz Library, The New York Botanical Garden, via Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain · https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4320887
  • Parsley — Thomé's Flora, plate 367 ↗ · Walter Müller (plates credited at publication level) · Mertz Library, The New York Botanical Garden, via Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · 1888 · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Parsley — Thomé's Flora, plate 367 · Walter Müller (plates credited at publication level) · Mertz Library, The New York Botanical Garden, via Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain · https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4320920
  • Mentha viridis — Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, plate 66 ↗ · Individual illustrator unrecorded; published in Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen · Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · 1887 · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Mentha viridis — Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, plate 66 · Individual illustrator unrecorded; published in Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen · Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain · https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/303698
  • Ognon jaune de Danvers — Les Plantes potagères ↗ · Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie, publication creator; individual engraver unrecorded · Wikimedia Commons · 1883 · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Ognon jaune de Danvers — Les Plantes potagères · Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie, publication creator; individual engraver unrecorded · Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain · https://archive.org/details/lesplantespotag00conggoog
  • Zingiber officinale — Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, plate 172 ↗ · Individual illustrator unrecorded; published in Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen · Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · 1890 · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Zingiber officinale — Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, plate 172 · Individual illustrator unrecorded; published in Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen · Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain · https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/303284
  • Lentil — Thomé's Flora, plate 450 ↗ · Walter Müller (plates credited at publication level) · Mertz Library, The New York Botanical Garden, via Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · 1888 · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Lentil — Thomé's Flora, plate 450 · Walter Müller (plates credited at publication level) · Mertz Library, The New York Botanical Garden, via Biodiversity Heritage Library / Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain · https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4321448
  • Cicer sativum = Cece rosso = Poids chiche — Hortus Romanus ↗ · Giorgio Bonelli, Constantino Sabbati and Liberato Sabbati, authors; Niccolò Martelli, editor; individual plate illustrator unrecorded · The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division / Wikimedia Commons · 1772–1793 · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Cicer sativum = Cece rosso = Poids chiche — Hortus Romanus · Giorgio Bonelli, Constantino Sabbati and Liberato Sabbati, authors; Niccolò Martelli, editor; individual plate illustrator unrecorded · The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division / Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain · https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/664664e0-c5f1-012f-0ca9-58d385a7bc34
  • Avena sativa — Medicinal Plants, volume 4, entry 292 ↗ · Robert Bentley and Henry Trimen, publication authors; individual illustrator unrecorded · Wikimedia Commons · 1880 · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Avena sativa — Medicinal Plants, volume 4, entry 292 · Robert Bentley and Henry Trimen, publication authors; individual illustrator unrecorded · Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bentley_and_Trimen_Avena.jpg
  • Basil, flowering plant and floral details ↗ · After Franz Anton von Scheidl · Wellcome Collection · 1776 · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Basil, flowering plant and floral details · After Franz Anton von Scheidl · Wellcome Collection · Public Domain · https://wellcomecollection.org/works/a3wx6334
  • Garlic, bulb and leaves ↗ · Creator unrecorded · Wellcome Collection · Date unrecorded · Public Domain · View archival image Image: Garlic, bulb and leaves · Creator unrecorded · Wellcome Collection · Public Domain · https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ufvp34v5

06 / YOUR OWN BOX

Leave a little
of your own knowledge here.

Keep a card to return to. Add what you noticed. Preserve someone’s words with their name, then make a booklet to share when you choose.

Open your recipe box

  1. Keep something

    Save a plant, recipe, account, or research card.

  2. Add your own margin notes

    Record a substitution, a cooking observation, or a family story. Keep the original words and your changes distinct.

  3. Put it on paper

    Select the recipes, stories, and regional readings you want in a printable booklet.

    Make a family booklet →

Your personal material stays in this browser. Export a backup to keep a separate copy. How your box is stored →

THE COLOPHON

Kept with care.
Open to correction.

Site founded and collection curated by Evelyna Bellamy. Herbologium is a project of Temporal Architecture, alongside collections including Chromologium and Cartologium.

Original authors retain their credit. Recipe adaptations, reading limits, and any actual testing or review are described where they belong.

Source consultation records describe material consulted for this edition. They do not document Evelyna personally writing the summaries, taking the photographs, conducting the studies, or testing the preparations. No independent expert review of Herbologium's summaries is recorded.

About this collection · Updated

Credit & reuse

The two Wellcome Collection plates carry the Public Domain Mark. Nine further historical illustrations have public-domain records linked in the catalogue. Each source record gives its own attribution and reuse terms.

The generated rosemary study, original ingredient symbols, and editorial compositions are credited to Herbologium. Source materials retain their own rights. Linking to the collection is welcome.

Recipe text carries its own source and reuse terms. Wikibooks adaptations retain CC BY-SA 4.0; public-domain contributions retain their contributor credits. Read the recipe policy →

Full recipes use AI-generated serving illustrations created with OpenAI image generation and Herbologium art direction. Each image has a source card; booklets retain its credit and disclosure. These illustrations do not document cooked or kitchen-tested batches. Inspect illustration details & provenance →

Inspect the artwork credits
Typefaces, icons & map data

The interface uses work by the following projects. These credits apply to the named assets, independently of recipe and image licenses.

Cormorant Garamond · Christian Thalmann / The Cormorant Project Authors

Source Sans 3 · Paul D. Hunt / Adobe

Caveat · Pablo Impallari / The Caveat Project Authors

Lucide icons · Lucide Contributors; portions by Cole Bemis / Feather

Natural Earth map geometry · Natural Earth contributors