If you’re a home cook then you can certainly appreciate the way that herbs and spices elevate a dish. Generally speaking, they are indispensable when trying to achieve a flavorful and lively outcome. With more than one hundred of them to choose from, there’s no doubt that you probably have acquired your own personal collection in the kitchen.

But where do these savory spices originate from? Often they live a much different life than we’re privy to once we meet up with them on the grocery store shelves.

Follow on as we share twelve of our favorites in their natural state!

1. Ginger

This spicy, zingy root is a versatile addition to many recipes. Zesty notes lend itself well to Asian and Indian cuisine, and its sweet warmth helps all kinds of baking projects. Ginger grows as a rhizome, a root, in the ground just below the soil, which is then harvested and often crystallized or powdered.

2. Turmeric

Much like ginger, turmeric is a rhizome and is harvested from beneath the ground. It produces long, flowering stalks above the ground. Turmeric is well known in its powdered form and has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, touted for its health benefits.

3. Cinnamon

This delicious spice is popular across many different cuisines, used for both savory and sweet applications. In its natural state, Cinnamon actually comprises the inner bark of several different kinds of trees in the genus Cinnamomum.

4. Chili Powder

What better to liven up a simmering pot of chili itself? This spicy dried powder often contains a delightfully slow heat. It is derived from pulverizing the fruit of one or more chili pepper varieties.

5. Saffron

This lauded spice actually comes from the stigmas of the flowering plant Crocus sativus. The ‘threads’ are hand-harvested, making saffron one of the world’s most costly spices by weight. Its pungent flavor and color is used to flavor dishes such as paella and risotto. Have you tried it?

6. Black Pepper

Ground black pepper is surely a staple in any kitchen. It comes from a flowering vine in the plant family Piperaceae. The fruit from the plant is harvested, otherwise known as peppercorns, which we then grind or buy ground.

7. Cumin

A popular addition to many Mexican dishes, this potent and earthy spice is actually part of the same family that carrots and parsley are in. It is harvested from Cuminum cyminum, a flowering plant. The seeds are removed from the fruit of the plant, dried, and used in a variety of cuisines.

8. Sesame

These flavorful seeds, as well as their oil, are a mainstay in Chinese cuisine. Sesame also comes from a flowering plant called Sesamum Indicum. The plant produces pods in which the edible seeds are harvested from.

9. Wasabi

We tear up just at the thought of this spicy Asian condiment! A familiar accompaniment to sushi, wasabi is actually the root of the Wasabia Japonica plant. Of note, only about 5% of the wasabi we eat is from the real plant. Modern preparations consist of mustard, horseradish, and cornstarch.

10. Mustard

One of the most familiar and pungent condiments, mustard comes from the seeds of the mustard plant. It contains a large range of notes, anywhere from spicy to sweet.

11. Vanilla

A power-house ingredient with a treasured flavor, vanilla comes from a type of orchid. The vanilla orchid grows around trees, with the most common species being Vanilla planifolia. The plant’s pods, or ‘beans’, are harvested and laid out to dry, which we can then scrape the seeds from.

12. Poppy Seed

A popular addition to baked goods, poppy seeds are harvested from the opium poppy plant. Once the flowers bloom and die they leave round seed pods that can be dried for harvest.

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Sources: LA Times, Wikipedia, Food & Wine, Fine Dining, Huff Post, Wikipedia, Sweet and Savory