from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Yerba \Yer"ba\, n. [Sp.] (Bot.)
An herb; a plant.
[1913 Webster]
Note: This word is much used in compound names of plants in
Spanish; as, yerba buena [Sp., a good herb], a name
applied in Spain to several kinds of mint ({Mentha
sativa}, {Mentha viridis}, etc.), but in California
universally applied to a common, sweet-scented labiate
plant ({Micromeria Douglasii}).
[1913 Webster]
{Yerba dol osa}. [Sp., herb of the she-bear.] A kind of
buckthorn ({Rhamnus Californica}).
{Yerba mansa}. [Sp., a mild herb, soft herb.] A plant
({Anemopsis Californica}) with a pungent, aromatic
rootstock, used medicinally by the Mexicans and the
Indians.
{Yerba reuma}. [Cf. Sp. reuma rheum, rheumatism.] A low
California undershrub ({Frankenia grandifolia}).
[1913 Webster]