Spice or Herb?

With the discussion about the "potato man's" potato diet one thing continues to come up, if all he's using on potatoes are herbs and spices, what's the difference? Aren't herbs and spices one and the same? Technically, yes and no. Herbs and spices both originate from plants, but where herbs generally come from the softer parts of plants, the leaves, and can be used either fresh or dried, spices are from the dried harder parts, the seeds, roots, bark, or berries. A perfect example of the difference between an herb and a spice can be found in one plant, coriander, where the dried or fresh leaves are used as the herb cilantro, most often found in salsas, while the brown seeds of the plant are known as the spice coriander. Spices and herbs were once considered highly valuable and used as currency; anyone who has ever purchased saffron can relate to that. Now days the two have become interchangeable, with the term spice often being used to define any dried plant product used to season and enhance the flavors of food. Whether you agree or disagree that herbs and spices are two different things, we can all agree that both make the world a much "tastier" place.