Marjoram Leaf & Flower
Origanum vulgare (Labiatae)
Habitat and Appearance:
There are quite a few species of marjoram and all are medicinally beneficial. Common throughout Europe, it used to flourish wild in this country but is now cultivated and rarely seen in the wild. It is a bushy, aromatic perennial, born on a horizontal root stock. It has small, petiolate, pointed, broadly ovate leaves, occasionally toothed, appearing opposite and decussate up the stem. The flowers are rose-purple, sometimes pinky-white, born on bracteoles (purplish), ending in short spikes or clusters (corymbose) in late summer.
Garden Suitability:
It makes a lovely garden plant and is easily propagated by cuttings or by root division of a clump during spring or autumn.
