Herbology

'''"Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for."

- Harry Potter '''

Herbology is the study of magical and mundane plants and fungi, making it the wizarding equivalent to botany. In Herbology, students learn to care for and utilize plants, and learn about their magical properties, and what they are used for. Many plants provide ingredients for potions and medicine, while others have magical effects of their own right.

Class location
These classes are held in the grounds of Hogwarts, in the greenhouses. The greenhouses are located below the two main Bell Towers of the castle. Classes are held in different greenhouses depending on the students' year, with more advanced and dangerous plants typically reserved for O.W.L. or N.E.W.T.-level study.

Class information
Herbology is a mandatory class at Hogwarts for the first five years of a student's education.

Students spend class time learning about the different varieties of magical plants that exsist. The further into a student's education the more difficult and dangerous the plants become.

In the fifth year students take Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations, much of the year is spent working with a variety of more dangerous plants like the Fanged Geranium, as well as revisiting the past four years of lessons. As part of their Herbology O.W.L, students must sit a written exam, and then complete a practical exam, during which the students work with a wide selection of plants.



Students who achieve an 'Exceeds Expectations' grade or higher in their Herbology O.W.L. move on to the advanced class, where the plants become more dangerous still. At the end of there seventh year students prepare for their N.E.W.T.s.

Pomona Sprout was at Hogwarts as Herbology professor in the 1990's; by 2017, however, she had either been replaced by, or was working alongside Neville Longbottom, who was likewise a professor. Neville was one of her students in the past, and a gifted herbologist.

First Year

 * Fire-Making Spell
 * Venomous Tentacula (Not practicaly)
 * Spiky Bush
 * Bouncing Bulb
 * Severing Charm
 * Puffapods
 * Moly
 * Asphodel
 * Dried Nettles
 * Dittany
 * Wormwood
 * Mandrake Root
 * Aconite
 * Lumos Solem
 * Devil's Snare

Second Year

 * Severing Charm (Revision)
 * Bowtruckles and how defeat them using Severing Charm.
 * Spiky Bush (Revision)
 * Venomous Tentacula ((Not practicaly) Revision)
 * Incendio Duo
 * Slugs and how to defeat them using Incendio Duo.
 * Puffapods (Revision)
 * Mandrakes
 * Fluxweed
 * Leaping Toadstools
 * Abyssinian Shrivelfigs

Third Year

 * Severing Charm (Revision)
 * Puffapods (Revision)
 * Incendio Tria

Fourth Year

 * Herbivicus
 * Orchideous Jinx
 * Incendio (Revision)
 * Learning the properties of Bubotuber pus and how to safely collect it.
 * Gillyweed and it's uses.

Fifth Year

 * Incendio (Revision to prepare to O.W.L.s)
 * Self-Fertilizing Shrubs
 * Chinese Chomping Cabbage
 * Fanged Geranium

Sixth Year

 * Venomous Tentacula
 * Snargaluff pods

Known equipment

 * Dragon dung – used as fertiliser (Professor Sprout's fertiliser of preference).
 * Dragon dung compost – used for planting.
 * Dragon-hide gloves – worn when handling dangerous plants.
 * Earmuffs – worn by students and the professor when repotting Mandrakes, so they could not harm students with their sound.
 * Mooncalf dung – used as fertiliser, makes magical plants grow well.
 * Wand - to cast Herbology-related spells, such as Diffindo or Incendio.

Kown Professors

 * Herbert Beery (?-pre 1955)
 * Pomona Sprout (?-pre 2017)
 * Neville Longbottom (pre 2017-?)

Required textbooks

 * Encyclopedia of Toadstools
 * Flesh-Eating Trees of the World – N.E.W.T.-level
 * Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean
 * One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Known O.W.L.s

 * Barty Crouch Jr.
 * Bill Weasley
 * Ernie Macmillan
 * George Weasley
 * Hannah Abbott
 * Harry Potter
 * Hermione Granger
 * Neville Longbottom
 * Percy Weasley
 * Pomona Sprout
 * Ron Weasley

Behind the scenes

 * As revealed in Pottermore, J. K. Rowling had originally devised this class to be called "Herbalism".

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * Pottermore

Notes and references
Herbología Botanique Erbologia Kruidenkunde Zielarstwo Травология