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Salvia rosmarinus
Also called Anthos
Rosemary is a fragrant, evergreen shrub from the Mediterranean, widely grown as a culinary herb and garden plant. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil and tolerates drought once established.
Salvia rosmarinus, synonym Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and purple or sometimes white, pink, or blue flowers. It is a member of the mint family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean region. It has numerous cultivars, and its leaves are commonly used as a flavoring.
Since it is attractive and drought-tolerant, rosemary is used as an ornamental plant in gardens and for xeriscape landscaping, especially in regions of Mediterranean climate. 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. It is easily grown in pots. The groundcover cultivars spread widely, with a dense and durable texture.
In order to harvest from the plant, the bush should be matured 2–3 years to ensure it is large enough to withstand it. The amount harvested should not exceed 20% of the growth in order to preserve the plant.
Rosemary essential oil contains about 150 phytochemicals, including rosmarinic acid, camphor, A-pinene, caffeic acid, ursolic acid, betulinic acid, carnosic acid, and carnosol. Rosemary essential oil contains 10–20% camphor.
It is native to the Mediterranean region, as well as Portugal and northwestern Spain. The herb was naturalized in China as early as 220 CE, during the late Han dynasty. Rosemary came to England at an unknown date, though it is likely that the Romans brought it when they invaded Britain in 43 CE. Even so, there are no viable records containing rosemary in Britain until the 8th century. This mention was in a document which was later credited to Charlemagne, who promoted the general usage of herbs and ordered rosemary specifically to be grown in monastic gardens and farms.
Egyptian Sage · Mediterranean sage · White sage · Brown Sage · Santa Rosa Island sage · Buchanan's Sage · Guatemalan Leaf Sage · Candelabra Sage · Cayman sage · Fragrant sage · Blood sage · Chia
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rosemary 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.
