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White micromeria (Micromeria fruticosa) is a dwarf evergreen shrub from the eastern Mediterranean that grows mainly on rocky surfaces, especially chalk and calcrete. Its aromatic, mint-like leaves are used for herbal tea.
Micromeria fruticosa (syn. Clinopodium serpyllifolium spp.), commonly known as white micromeria or white-leaved savory, is a dwarf evergreen shrub endemic to the eastern Mediterranean.
The plant's aromatic leaves (resembling mint) are used in making decoctions (herbal teas).
A total of 215 phenolics and other chemical compounds were identified in the methanol extracts of M. fruticosa leaves. Of these, over 180 phytochemicals (87 flavonoids, 41 phenolic acids, 16 terpenoids, 8 sulfate derivatives, 7 iridoids, and others) are reported in Micromeria. Some of the metabolites separated are acacetin-7-O-rutinoside, apigenin 7-O-rutinoside, chlorogenic acid, coumaroylagmatine, lithospermic acid, rosmarinic acid, rutin, sagerinic acid, salvinorin C, santaflavone, and other sulfate derivatives.
White-leaved savory is endemic to the eastern Mediterranean (Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Israel). It grows mainly on rock surfaces in the low Mediterranean region, and is more common on chalk and calcrete rocks than on rocks of limestone. In the Levant its white blossoms can be seen between July and November.
Besides tea which can be made by an infusion of its mint-flavored leaves, the Arabic speaking population in the Hebron area often prepared dried figs (Arabic: قطين, romanized: quṭṭēn) by laying them out to dry upon a large stone slab that had been covered with crushed leaves and stems of thyme-leaved savory (Micromeria fruticosa) for flavoring. This is also thought to have been done because of the thyme-leaved savory's anti-fungal properties.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Micromeria fruticosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
