Definition

1. Noun:
   • Medicinal plant: A plant, or a part of a plant (such as roots, leaves, bark, or flowers), that is used for its therapeutic properties to treat illnesses, alleviate symptoms, or maintain health.
   • Specific medicinal herb: Often refers to a known, specific herb or plant used in traditional or folk medicine.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ông tôi thường vào rừng tìm các loại cây thuốc. (My grandfather often goes into the forest to find medicinal plants.)
  • Lá cây thuốc này có thể dùng để hạ sốt. (The leaves of this medicinal plant can be used to reduce fever.)
  • Trong vườn nhà bà có trồng nhiều cây thuốc nam. (Grandmother grows many Southern Vietnamese medicinal herbs in her garden.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is foundational in contexts like traditional medicine (y học cổ truyền), herbalism, and ethnobotany.
• It can be part of compound terms specifying the type of medicine, such as cây thuốc nam (Southern Vietnamese traditional medicinal plants) vs. cây thuốc bắc (Northern / Chinese medicinal herbs).

Variants and Related Words

• Dược liệu (n): Medicinal material; a broader term that includes plant-based, animal-based, and mineral substances used for medicine.
• Thảo dược (n): Herbs; herbal medicine; often used interchangeably with but can imply a focus on leafy parts.
• Vườn thuốc (n): Medicinal plant garden.

Synonyms

• Medicinal herb
• Healing plant
• Medicinal plant

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Biết tuốt như thầy thuốc biết cây thuốc": An idiom meaning "to know everything," literally "to know all things like a physician knows medicinal plants." It highlights the vast knowledge expected of a traditional healer.
• "Cây nhà lá vườn": While not exclusively about medicine, this phrase ("homegrown plants") is often used to describe simple, locally sourced medicinal herbs or home remedies.