Herbology (class)

Herbology is the study of Magical and Mundane plants and fungi. 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 by Pomona Sprout, the Herbology Professor and Head of Hufflepuff house, and later by Neville Longbottom.

Curriculum
Herbology is a mandatory class at Hogwarts for the first five years of a students education.

Herbology lessons in a students first year at Hogwarts consist mainly of lectures relating to plants and their uses. It is not until their second year, when they move to greenhouse three, that the students receive a more hands on experience. During their second year students study and care for Mandrakes and Abyssinian Shrivelfigs.

During a students third year of Herbology their lessons included Puffapods and how to harvest them.

In a students forth year at Hogwarts their Herbology lessons include learning of the properties of Bubotuber pus and how to safely collect it.

Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations are taken at the end of a students fifth year, as such much of the year is spent working with a variety of more dangerous plants like the Fanged Geranium, as well as revising 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 recieve a good grade in their Herbology O.W.L. will be allowed to continue Herbology during their sixth year at Hogwarts, where they will prepare for their N.E.W.T.s in their seventh year.

Known Equipment

 * Dragon Dung Compost - used for planting.
 * Dragon hide Gloves – worn when handling dangerous plants
 * Ear Muffs – worn by students when repotting Mandrakes, so they could not harm students with their sound
 * Mooncalf dung – used as fertiliser, makes magical plants grow well
 * Dragon Dung – used as fertilizer (Professor Sprout's fertilizer of preference).

Required Textbooks

 * 1000 Herbs and Where to Find Them – first–sixth years
 * One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
 * Encyclopedia of Toadstools
 * Flesh-Eating Trees of the World – sixth year
 * Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean

Known O.W.L.s

 * Hermione Granger
 * Neville Longbottom
 * Harry Potter
 * Ron Weasley
 * Bill Weasley
 * Percy Weasley