''Salvia rosmarinus'' (
), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant,
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers,
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to the
Mediterranean region
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...
.
Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name ''Rosmarinus officinalis'' (
), now a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
.
It is a member of the sage family
Lamiaceae
The Lamiaceae ( )
or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...
, which includes many other medicinal and culinary herbs. The name "rosemary" derives from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
("dew of the sea"). Rosemary has a
fibrous root system
A fibrous root system is the opposite of a taproot system. It is usually formed by thin, moderately branching roots growing from the stem. A fibrous root system is universal in monocotyledonous plants and ferns. The fibrous root systems look lik ...
.
[
]
Description
Rosemary is an aromatic evergreen shrub with leaves similar to hemlock needles. It is native to the Mediterranean and Asia, but is reasonably hardy in cool climates. Special cultivars like 'Arp' can withstand winter temperatures down to about . It can withstand droughts, surviving a severe lack of water for lengthy periods. In some parts of the world, it is considered a potentially invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
. The seeds are often difficult to start, with a low germination rate and relatively slow growth, but the plant can live as long as 30 years.
Forms range from upright to trailing; the upright forms can reach tall, rarely . The leaves are evergreen, long and broad, green above, and white below, with dense, short, woolly hair.
The plant flowers in spring and summer in temperate climate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
s, but the plants can be in constant bloom in warm climates; flowers are white, pink, purple or deep blue. Rosemary also has a tendency to flower outside its normal flowering season; it has been known to flower as late as early December, and as early as mid-February (in the northern hemisphere).
Taxonomy
''Salvia rosmarinus'' is now considered one of many hundreds of species in the genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''Salvia
''Salvia'' () is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with nearly 1000 species of shrubs, herbaceous plant, herbaceous perennial plant, perennials, and annual plant, annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, ''Salvia'' is part of the ...
''. Formerly it was placed in a much smaller genus, ''Rosmarinus
Rosmarinus ( ) is a small taxonomic clade of woody, perennial herbs with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin.
In 2017 the species in the genus ''Rosmarinus'' were moved into the large ...
'', which contained only two to four species including ''R. officinalis'', which is now considered a synonym of ''S. rosmarinus''. The other species most often recognized is the closely related, ''Salvia jordanii
''Salvia jordanii'' is a species of ''Salvia'' from Spain, Morocco, Algeria, and Libya. It was formerly in a much smaller genus ''Rosmarinus
Rosmarinus ( ) is a small taxonomic clade of woody, perennial herbs with fragrant evergreen needle-li ...
'' (formerly ''Rosmarinus eriocalyx''), of the Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
of Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
.
Both the original and current genus names of the species were applied by the 18th-century naturalist and founding taxonomist
In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
. Elizabeth Kent noted in her ''Flora Domestica'' (1823), "The botanical name of this plant is compounded of two Latin words, signifying Sea-dew; and indeed Rosemary thrives best by the sea."
History
The first mention of rosemary is found on cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
stone tablets as early as 5000 BCE. After that not much is known, except that Egyptians used it in their burial rituals. There is no further mention of rosemary until the ancient Greeks and Romans. Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
(23–79 CE) wrote about it in ''The Natural History'', as did Pedanius Dioscorides
Pedanius Dioscorides ( grc-gre, Πεδάνιος Διοσκουρίδης, ; 40–90 AD), “the father of pharmacognosy”, was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of ''De materia medica'' (, On Medical Material) —a 5-vol ...
(c. 40 CE to c. 90 CE), a Greek botanist (amongst other things). He talked about rosemary in his most famous writing, ''De Materia Medica
(Latin name for the Greek work , , both meaning "On Medical Material") is a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them. The five-volume work was written between 50 and 70 CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, a ...
'', one of the most influential herbal books in history.
The herb then made its way east to China and was naturalized there as early as 220 CE, during the late Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
.
Rosemary came to England at an unknown date; the Romans probably brought it when they invaded in the first century, but there are no viable records about rosemary arriving in Britain until the 8th century CE. This was credited to Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
, who promoted herbs in general, and ordered rosemary to be grown in monastic gardens and farms.
There are also no records of rosemary being properly naturalized in Britain until 1338, when cuttings were sent to Queen Philippa
Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted as regent in 1346,Strickla ...
by her mother, Countess Joan of Hainault. It included a letter that described the virtues of rosemary and other herbs that accompanied the gift. The original manuscript can be found in the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. The gift was then planted in the garden of the old palace of Westminster. After this, rosemary is found in most English herbal texts, and is widely used for medicinal and culinary purposes. Hungary water, which dates to the 14th century, was one of the first alcohol-based perfumes in Europe, and was primarily made from distilled rosemary. Rosemary,along with holly and ivy, was commonly used for Christmas decorations in the 17th century.
Rosemary finally arrived in the Americas with early European settlers in the beginning of the 17th century. It soon was spread to South America and global distribution.
Usage
Upon cultivation, the leaves, twigs, and flowering apices are extracted for use. Rosemary is used as a decorative plant in gardens. The leaves are used to flavor various foods, such as stuffing
Stuffing, filling, or dressing is an edible mixture, often composed of herbs and a starch such as bread, used to fill a cavity in the preparation of another food item. Many foods may be stuffed, including poultry, seafood, and vegetables. A ...
and roast meats.
Cultivation
Since it is attractive and drought-tolerant, rosemary is used as an ornamental plant in gardens and for xeriscape
Xeriscaping is the process of landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water and has gained acceptance in other ...
landscaping, especially in regions of Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
. It is considered easy to grow and pest-resistant. Rosemary can grow quite large and retain attractiveness for many years, can be pruned into formal shapes and low hedges, and has been used for topiary
Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...
. It is easily grown in pots. The groundcover
Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought.
In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...
cultivars spread widely, with a dense and durable texture.
Rosemary grows on loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...
soil with good drainage in an open, sunny position. It will not withstand waterlogging and some varieties are susceptible to frost. It grows best in neutral to alkaline conditions (pH 7–7.8) with average fertility. It can be propagated from an existing plant by clipping a shoot (from a soft new growth) long, stripping a few leaves from the bottom, and planting it directly into soil.
Cultivars
Numerous cultivars
A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...
have been selected for garden use.
* 'Albus' – white flowers
* 'Arp' – leaves light green, lemon-scented and especially cold-hardy
* 'Aureus' – leaves speckled yellow
* 'Benenden Blue' – leaves narrow, dark green
* 'Blue Boy' – dwarf, small leaves
* 'Blue Rain' – pink flowers
* 'Golden Rain' – leaves green, with yellow streaks
* 'Gold Dust' – dark green leaves, with golden streaks but stronger than 'Golden Rain'
* 'Haifa' – low and small, white flowers
* 'Irene' – low and lax, trailing, intense blue flowers
* 'Lockwood de Forest' – procumbent selection from 'Tuscan Blue'
* 'Ken Taylor' – shrubby
* 'Majorica Pink' – pink flowers
* 'Miss Jessopp's Upright' – distinctive tall fastigiate form, with wider leaves.
* 'Pinkie' – pink flowers
* 'Prostratus' – lower groundcover
* 'Pyramidalis' (or 'Erectus') – fastigate form, pale blue flowers
* 'Remembrance' (or 'Gallipoli') – taken from the Gallipoli Peninsula
* 'Roseus' – pink flowers
* 'Salem' – pale blue flowers, cold-hardy similar to 'Arp'
* 'Severn Sea' – spreading, low-growing, with arching branches, flowers deep violet
* 'Sudbury Blue' – blue flowers
* 'Tuscan Blue' – traditional robust upright form
* 'Wilma's Gold' – yellow leaves
The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...
's Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
:
* 'Benenden
Benenden is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The parish is located on the Weald, to the west of Tenterden. In addition to the main village, Iden Green, East End, Dingleden and Standen Street settlem ...
Blue'
* 'Miss Jessopp's Upright'
* 'Severn Sea'
* 'Sissinghurst
Sissinghurst is a small village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. Originally called ''Milkhouse Street'' (also referred to as ''Mylkehouse''), Sissinghurst changed its name in the 1850s, possibly to avoid association with the smu ...
Blue'
Culinary use
Rosemary leaves are used as a flavoring in foods, such as stuffing and roast lamb, pork, chicken, and turkey. Fresh or dried leaves are used in traditional Mediterranean cuisine
Mediterranean cuisine is the food and methods of preparation used by the people of the Mediterranean Basin. The idea of a Mediterranean cuisine originates with the cookery writer Elizabeth David's book, ''A Book of Mediterranean Food'' (1950) ...
. They have a bitter, astringent
An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin ''adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Calamine lotion, witch hazel, and yerba mansa, a Californian plant ...
taste and a characteristic aroma
An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...
which complements many cooked foods. Herbal tea
Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term ...
can be made from the leaves. When roasted with meats or vegetables, the leaves impart a mustard
Mustard may refer to:
Food and plants
* Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment
* Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment
** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
-like aroma with an additional fragrance of charred Charring is a chemical process of incomplete combustion of certain solids when subjected to high heat. Heat distillation removes water vapour and volatile organic compounds ( syngas) from the matrix. The residual black carbon material is char, as d ...
wood that goes well with barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
d foods.
In amounts typically used to flavor foods, such as one teaspoon
A teaspoon (tsp.) is an item of cutlery. It is a small spoon that can be used to stir a cup of tea or coffee, or as a tool for Cooking measures, measuring volume. The size of teaspoons ranges from about . For cooking purposes and dosing of med ...
(1 gram), rosemary provides no nutritional
Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient nu ...
value. Rosemary extract
An extract is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures, absolutes or in powder form.
The aromatic principles of many spices, nuts, h ...
has been shown to improve the shelf life
Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...
and heat stability of omega 3
Omega−3 fatty acids, also called Omega-3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond, three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their chem ...
-rich oils which are prone to rancidity
Rancidification is the process of complete or incomplete autoxidation or hydrolysis of fats and oils when exposed to air, light, moisture, or bacterial action, producing short-chain aldehydes, ketones and free fatty acids.
When these processes oc ...
. Rosemary is also an effective antimicrobial herb.
Fragrance
Rosemary oil is used for purposes of fragrant bodily perfumes or to emit an aroma into a room. It is also burnt as incense, and used in shampoos and cleaning products.
Phytochemicals
Rosemary contains a number of phytochemical
Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes . Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons ...
s, including rosmarinic acid
Rosmarinic acid, named after rosemary (''Salvia rosmarinus'' Linn.), is a polyphenol constituent of many culinary herbs, including rosemary (''Salvia rosmarinus'' L.), perilla (''Perilla frutescens'' L.), Salvia officinalis, sage (''Salvia offic ...
, camphor
Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...
, caffeic acid
Caffeic acid is an organic compound that is classified as a hydroxycinnamic acid. This yellow solid consists of both phenolic and acrylic functional groups. It is found in all plants because it is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of lignin, one ...
, ursolic acid
Ursolic acid (sometimes referred to as urson, prunol, malol, or 3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid), is a pentacyclic triterpenoid identified in the epicuticular waxes of apples as early as 1920 and widely found in the peels of fruits, as well ...
, betulinic acid, carnosic acid
Carnosic acid is a natural benzenediol abietane diterpene found in rosemary (''Rosmarinus officinalis'') and common sage (''Salvia officinalis''). Dried leaves of rosemary and sage contain 1.5 to 2.5% carnosic acid.
Carnosic acid and carnosol, a ...
, and carnosol
Carnosol is a phenolic diterpene found in the herbs rosemary (''Rosmarinus officinalis'') and Mountain desert sage ('' Salvia pachyphylla'').
It has been studied in-vitro for anti-cancer effects in various cancer cell types.
See also
* Carnos ...
. Rosemary essential oil contains 10–20% camphor.
Folklore and customs
The plant or its oil have been used in folk medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
in the belief it may have medicinal effects. Rosemary was considered sacred to ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks. In ''Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
'' (Part One, Chapter XVII), the fictional hero uses rosemary in his recipe for balm of fierabras.
The plant has been used as a symbol for remembrance during war commemorations and funerals in Europe and Australia. Mourners would throw it into graves as a symbol of remembrance for the dead.
In Australia, sprigs of rosemary are worn on ANZAC Day
, image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg
, caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary.
, observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...
and sometimes Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
to signify remembrance; the herb grows wild on the Gallipoli Peninsula
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
, where many Australians died during World War I.
Several Shakespeare plays refer to the use of rosemary in burial or memorial rites. In Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
''Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'', Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...
says, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember." It likewise appears in Shakespeare's ''Winter's Tale'' in Act 4 Scene 4, where Perdita talks about "Rosemary and Rue". In Act 4 Scene 5 of ''Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'', Friar Lawrence admonishes the Capulet household to "stick your rosemary on this fair corse, and as the custom is, and in her best array, bear her to church."
In the Spanish fairy tale The Sprig of Rosemary
The Sprig of Rosemary is a Spanish fairy tale collected by Dr. D. Francisco de S. Maspons y Labros in ''Cuentos Populars Catalans''. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Pink Fairy Book''.
It is related to the international cycle of ''The Search for ...
, the heroine touches the hero with the title rosemary in order to restore his magically lost memory.
See also
* Four thieves vinegar
* Scented water
Scented water, odoriferous water,Baer, p. 43 or sweet water is a water with a sweet aromatic smell. It is made of flowers or herbs and is the precursor to the modern-day perfume. Scented waters are also used in making other products such as p ...
References
External links
Rosemary List of Chemicals (Dr. Duke's)
{{Authority control
rosmarinus
Rosmarinus ( ) is a small taxonomic clade of woody, perennial herbs with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin.
In 2017 the species in the genus ''Rosmarinus'' were moved into the large ...
Drought-tolerant plants
Garden plants
Herbs
Matorral shrubland
Medicinal plants
Flora of the Mediterranean Basin
Mediterranean cuisine
Plants described in 1753
Plants used in bonsai
E-number additives
Subshrubs