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Origanum majorana
Also called Sweet marjoram, Pot Marjoram, Pot Majoram, Pot Marjorum
Sweet marjoram is a cold-sensitive perennial herb (often grown as an annual or in pots) with a sweet, pine-citrus flavour, used in cooking. Grow it in full sun in well-drained soil and keep it in pots to stop it spreading.
Marjoram (, Origanum majorana, syn. Majorana hortensis Moench) is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marjoram are used to distinguish it from other plants of the genus Origanum. It is also called pot marjoram, although this name is also used for other cultivated species of Origanum.
Considered a tender perennial (USDA Zones 7–9), marjoram can sometimes prove hardy even in zone 5. Under proper conditions it spreads prolifically, and so is usually grown in pots to prevent it from taking over a garden.
Marjoram is cultivated for its aromatic leaves, either green or dry, for culinary purposes; the tops are cut as the plants begin to flower and are dried slowly in the shade. It is often used in herb combinations such as herbes de Provence and za'atar. The flowering leaves and tops of marjoram are steam-distilled to produce an essential oil that is yellowish (darkening to brown as it ages). It has many chemical components, some of which are borneol, camphor, and pinene.
Marjoram is used for seasoning lamb and vegetable dishes, soups, stews, salad dressings, sauces, herbal teas, and sausages. Its flavor resembles that of oregano.
Origanum amanum · Origanum laevigatum · Pot marjoram · Origanum rotundifolium · Biblical-hyssop · Oregano
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Marjoram 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
