The answer to this question is IT DEPENDS. Why? Because as the general rule, herb names are not capitalized unless they are at the beginning of the sentence. This is because in English, common names of plants are not capitalized. However, in every rule there is always an exception. If an herb name contains a proper name, then that proper name should be capitalized.
For example: Missouri goldenrod and rigid goldenrod – the difference is that Missouri is a proper name while rigid is not, hence the capitalization. Please be noted, however, that some books capitalized common herb names, but it was mainly because the books were written in the past wherein English rules were not strictly followed. Today, however, common names are no longer capitalized.
