The name 'perennial' come from the Latin perennis and it means 'many years'. Plants living for at least three years.
Unless qualified it normally denotes a herbaceous perennial. Which simply means the herb 'disappear' in winter. In fact, they die back to a rootstock to protect next year's shoots which appear magically each spring.
Sometimes catalogues will use the term perennial rather loosely. You'll find descriptions such as clump-forming, creeping, mat-forming and even shrubby.
In the end it doesn't really matter. As long as you know it's a perennial you can ensure that you plan for a more permanent position in the herb garden.
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