Rosemary

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For other uses, see Rosemary (disambiguation).

Rosemary

Rosemary in bloom.JPG

Flowering rosemary

Scientific classification edit

Kingdom: Plantae

Clade: Tracheophytes

Clade: Angiosperms

Clade: Eudicots

Clade: Asterids

Order: Lamiales

Family: Lamiaceae

Genus: Salvia

Species: S. rosmarinus

Binomial name

Salvia rosmarinus

Spenn.[1][2]

Synonyms[1]

Rosmarinus angustifolius Mill.

Rosmarinus communis Noronha

Rosmarinus flexuosus Jord. & Fourr.

Rosmarinus latifolius Mill.

Rosmarinus ligusticus Gand.

Rosmarinus officinalis L.

Rosmarinus palaui (O.Bolòs & Molin.) Rivas Mart. & M.J.Costa

Rosmarinus prostratus Mazziari

 Rosmarinus rigidus Jord. & Fourr.

Rosmarinus tenuifolius Jord. & Fourr.

Salvia fasciculata Fernald

Salvia rosmarinus, commonly known as rosemary, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant,
evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean
region.[3] Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name Rosmarinus officinalis, now a synonym.

It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs. The name
"rosemary" derives from Latin ros marinus ("dew of the sea").[4][5] The plant is also sometimes
called anthos, from the ancient Greek word ἄνθος, meaning "flower".[6] Rosemary has a fibrous root
system.[3]

Description

Salvia rosmarinus 'Prostratus'

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. It can withstand droughts,
surviving a severe lack of water for lengthy periods.[7] In some parts of the world, it is considered a
potentially invasive species.[3] 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.[3]

Forms range from upright to trailing; the upright forms can reach 1.5 m (5 ft) tall, rarely 2 m (6 ft 7
in). The leaves are evergreen, 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) long and 2–5 mm broad, green above, and white
below, with dense, short, woolly hair.

The plant flowers in spring and summer in temperate climates, but the plants can be in constant
bloom in warm climates; flowers are white, pink, purple or deep blue.[3] 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).[8]

Taxonomy

Salvia rosmarinus is now considered one of many hundreds of species in the genus Salvia.[2]
Formerly it was placed in a much smaller genus, Rosmarinus, which contained only two to four
species including R. officinalis,[9] which is now considered a synonym of S. rosmarinus. The other
species most often recognized is the closely related, Salvia jordanii (formerly Rosmarinus eriocalyx),
of the Maghreb of Africa and Iberia.
The name of ros marinus is the plant's ancient name in classical Latin. 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."[10] Both the original and current
genus names of the species were applied by the 18th-century naturalist and founding taxonomist
Carl Linnaeus.