:en:Rosemary

File:RosemarySprig.jpg

File:Rosmarinus officinalis prostratus.jpg

Rosemary has a fibrous root system.{{cite web |date=3 January 2018 |title=Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) |url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/47678 |access-date=1 April 2023 |publisher=Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International}} It forms an aromatic evergreen shrub with leaves similar to Tsuga needles. Forms range from upright to trailing; the upright forms can reach between {{Convert|4–6|ft|order=flip}} tall.{{Cite web |last=Mahr |first=Susan |title=Rosemary, Rosemarinus officinalis |url=https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/rosemary-rosemarinus-officinalis/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=Wisconsin Horticulture}} The leaves are evergreen, {{convert|2|-|4|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long and {{cvt|2|–|5|mm|in|frac=16}} 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. The branches are dotted with groups of 2 to 3 flowers down its length.{{Cite web |last=Mahr |first=Susan |title=Rosemary, Rosemarinus officinalis |url=https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/rosemary-rosemarinus-officinalis/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=Wisconsin Horticulture}} 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).{{cite web|url=http://thegardenist.com.au/2012/06/the-good-graces-of-rosemary/|title=The good graces of rosemary|last1=McCoy|first1=Michael|date=27 June 2012|website=The Gardenist|access-date=10 April 2015|archive-date=16 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116071803/http://thegardenist.com.au/2012/06/the-good-graces-of-rosemary/|url-status=dead}} The plant can live as long as 35 years.Federal Register. [https://books.google.com/books?id=X76Gnk7Ug4QC&dq=%22Mature+rosemary+approaches+senescence+at+an+age+of+30-35+years%22&pg=PA2228 Volume 52, Issues 13-20 - Page 2228]. Retrieved on 6 Oct. 2023. "Mature rosemary approaches senescence at an age of 30-35 years…it releases toxic chemicals into the soil that inhibit or prevent the growth of most other plants, resulting in areas of relatively bare, open sand between the shrubs."

Salvia jordanii (formerly Rosmarinus eriocalyx) is a closely related species native to Iberia and the Maghreb of Africa.{{cite web |title=Salvia jordanii J.B. Walker |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77161673-1 |accessdate=1 April 2023 |work=Plants of the Worls Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew}}

File:Rosemary Plant.jpg

Salvia rosmarinus is now considered one of many hundreds of species in the genus Salvia. Formerly it was placed in a much smaller genus, Rosmarinus, which contained only two to four species including Rosmarinus officinalis ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|r|ɒ|s|m|ə|ˈ|r|aɪ|n|ə|s|_|ə|ˌ|f|ɪ|s|ɪ|ˈ|n|eɪ|l|ɪ|s}}),{{Cite journal|last1=Rosselló|first1=J. A.|last2=Cosín|first2=R.|last3=Boscaiu|first3=M.|last4=Vicente|first4=O.|last5=Martínez|first5=I.|last6=Soriano|first6=P.|year=2006|title=Intragenomic diversity and phylogenetic systematics of wild rosemaries (Rosmarinus officinalis L. s.l., Lamiaceae) assessed by nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences (ITS)|journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution|volume=262|issue=1–2|pages=1–12|doi=10.1007/s00606-006-0454-5|jstor=i23655428|bibcode=2006PSyEv.262....1R |s2cid=25645455}} which is now considered a synonym. Both the original and current genus names of the species were applied by the 18th-century naturalist and founding taxonomist Carl Linnaeus.{{cite book |first=Carolus |last=Linnaeus |title=Species Plantarum |volume=1 |page=23 |date=1753 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/84235#page/39/mode/1up |accessdate=1 April 2023 }}

Elizabeth Kent noted in her Flora Domestica (1823), "The botanical name of this plant is compounded of two Latin words [{{lang|la|ros marinus}}], signifying Sea-dew; and indeed Rosemary thrives best by the sea."{{Cite book |last=Kent |first=Elizabeth |title=Flora Domestica, or the Portable Flower-Garden |publisher=Taylor and Hessey |year=1823 |pages=330}}{{cite book |last=Room |first=Adrian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZIOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA150 |title=A Dictionary of True Etymologies |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-415-03060-1 |page=150}}{{cite journal |last=Wedgwood |first=Hensleigh |author-link=Hensleigh Wedgwood |year=1855 |title=On False Etymologies |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3924121;view=1up;seq=76 |journal=Transactions of the Philological Society |issue=6 |pages=66}}

File:Rosemary, ca 1500.jpg, circa 1500]]

It is native to the Mediterranean region, as well as Portugal and northwestern Spain.{{Cite web |last=Mahr |first=Susan |title=Rosemary, Rosemarinus officinalis |url=https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/rosemary-rosemarinus-officinalis/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=Wisconsin Horticulture}} It was first mentioned on cuneiform stone tablets as early as 5000 BCE.Leafy Medicinal Herbs: Botany, Chemistry, Postharvest Technology and Uses by Dawn Ambrose, 216, 210-11 The herb was naturalized in China as early as 220 CE, during the late Han dynasty.{{Cite web|title=Han dynasty {{!}} Definition, Map, Culture, Art, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Han-dynasty|access-date=2021-03-19|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}

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 CE. 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.The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs: History, Botany by Deborah Madison, 2017, p.266

There are no records of rosemary being properly naturalized in Britain until 1338, when cuttings were sent to Queen Philippa by her mother, Countess Joan of Hainault.{{Cite ODNB |title=Philippa [Philippa of Hainault] (1310x15?–1369), queen of England, consort of Edward III |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-22110 |access-date=2023-06-26 | year=2004 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/22110 | last1=Vale | first1=Juliet }}{{Cite journal |last=Keiser |first=George R. |date=2005 |title=A Middle English Rosemary Treatise in Verse and Prose |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/ANQQ.18.1.9-18 |journal=ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews |language=en |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=9–18 |doi=10.3200/ANQQ.18.1.9-18 |issn=0895-769X|url-access=subscription }} It was then planted in the garden of the old palace of Westminster. Since then, rosemary can be found in most English herbal texts.A Brief History of Thyme and other Herbs by Miranda Seymour, 2002, p.96

Rosemary finally arrived in the Americas with early European settlers in the beginning of the 17th century, and was soon spread to South America and distributed globally.

It is reasonably hardy in cool climates. Special cultivars like 'Arp' can withstand winter temperatures down to about {{cvt|−20|°C}}.{{Cite journal |last1=Tucker |first1=Arthur O. |last2=Maciarello |first2=Michael J. |date=September 1986 |title=The essential oils of some rosemary cultivars |journal=Flavour and Fragrance Journal |language=en |volume=1 |issue=4–5 |pages=137–142 |doi=10.1002/ffj.2730010402}} It can withstand droughts, surviving a severe lack of water for lengthy periods.{{cite web |title=How to Grow Rosemary |url=http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/fruit_veg_mini_project_july_3_rosemary.asp |access-date=10 November 2011 |website=Garden Action}} It is considered a potentially invasive species and its seeds are often difficult to start, with a low germination rate.Shepherd, Lizz. The Complete Guide to Growing Vegetables, Flowers, Fruits, and Herbs from Containers. [https://books.google.com/books?id=7fUz7UHL2DkC&dq=rosemary+tough+start+seeds+germination+slow&pg=PA127 Page 127]. Retrieved on 6 Oct. 2023. "Rosemary seeds can be hard to start, with a slow germinating time and a low germination rate, which means many seeds do not develop into plants."

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.{{Cite web |last=Mahr |first=Susan |title=Rosemary, Rosemarinus officinalis |url=https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/rosemary-rosemarinus-officinalis/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=Wisconsin Horticulture}} The amount harvested should not exceed 20% of the growth in order to preserve the plant.

{{refimprovesect|date=October 2023}}

Numerous cultivars have been selected for garden use.

• 'Albus' – white flowers
• 'Arp' – leaves light green, lemon-scented and especially cold-hardy
• 'Aureus' – leaves speckled yellow
• 'Benenden Blue' – leaves narrow, dark green
• 'Blue Boy' – dwarf, small leaves
• 'Blue Rain' – pink flowers
• 'Golden Rain' – leaves green, with yellow streaks
• 'Gold Dust' – dark green leaves, with golden streaks but stronger than 'Golden Rain'
• 'Haifa' – low and small, white flowers
• 'Irene' – low and lax, trailing, intense blue flowers
• 'Lockwood de Forest' – procumbent selection from 'Tuscan Blue'
• 'Ken Taylor' – shrubby
• 'Majorica Pink' – pink flowers
• 'Miss Jessopp's Upright' – distinctive tall fastigiate form, with wider leaves.
• 'Pinkie' – pink flowers
• 'Prostratus' – lower groundcover
• 'Pyramidalis' (or 'Erectus') – fastigiate form, pale blue flowers
• 'Remembrance' (or 'Gallipoli') – taken from the Gallipoli Peninsula[http://gardenclinic.com.au/in_the_vegie_patch/rosemary/ Rosemary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422020916/http://gardenclinic.com.au/in_the_vegie_patch/rosemary/|date=2012-04-22}}. Gardenclinic.com.au. Retrieved on 2014-06-03.
• 'Roseus' – pink flowers
• 'Salem' – pale blue flowers, cold-hardy similar to 'Arp'
• 'Severn Sea' – spreading, low-growing, with arching branches, flowers deep violet
• 'Sudbury Blue' – blue flowers
• 'Tuscan Blue' – traditional robust upright form
• 'Wilma's Gold' – yellow leaves

The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:{{cite web |date=July 2017 |title=AGM Plants - Ornamental |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf |access-date=10 October 2018 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society |page=93}}

• 'Benenden Blue'{{Cite web |title=Rosmarinus officinalis (Angustifolia Group) 'Benenden Blue' |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/386321/Salvia-rosmarinus-(Angustifolia-Group)-Benenden-Blue-(Ro)/Details |access-date=5 March 2021 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society}}
• 'Miss Jessopp's Upright'{{Cite web |title=Rosmarinus officinalis 'Miss Jessopp's Upright' |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/384683/Salvia-rosmarinus-Miss-Jessopp-s-Upright-(Ro)/Details |access-date=5 March 2021 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society}}
• 'Severn Sea'{{Cite web |title=Rosmarinus officinalis 'Severn Sea' |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/386349/Salvia-rosmarinus-Severn-Sea-(Ro)/Details |access-date=5 March 2021 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society}}
• 'Sissinghurst Blue'{{Cite web |title=Rosmarinus officinalis 'Sissinghurst Blue' |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/386350/Salvia-rosmarinus-Sissinghurst-Blue-(Ro)/Details |access-date=5 March 2021 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society}}

File:Koeh-258.jpg]]

File:Rosmarinus officinalis MHNT.BOT.2008.1.19.jpg]]

File:Rosemary (রোজমেরী).JPG

Rosemary leaves are used as a flavoring in foods, such as stews, stuffing, roasted meats, and marinades.{{Cite web|title=About the Herb Rosemary and Uses|url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/all-about-rosemary-3050513|access-date=2021-01-29|website=The Spruce Eats|language=en}}{{Cite book |last=The Culinary Institute of America |author-link=The Culinary Institute of America |title=The Professional Chef |publisher=Wiley |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-470-42 135-2 |edition=9th |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |page=180}}{{cite web|url=https://www.drugs.com/npp/rosemary.html| title=Rosemary|publisher=Drugs.com|date=24 June 2024|access-date=22 March 2025}}

Fresh or dried leaves are used in traditional Mediterranean cuisine, having an aroma of pine which complements many cooked foods. Herbal tea can be made from the leaves. In some cooking, the woody stem, stripped of its leaves, is used as a skewer.

File:RosemaryEssentialOil.png

Hungary water, dating to the 14th century, was one of the first alcohol-based perfumes in Europe, and was primarily made from distilled rosemary.{{Cite journal |last=Sullivan |first=Catherine |date=1994-03-01 |title=Searching for nineteenth-century Florida water bottles |journal=Historical Archaeology |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=78–98 |doi=10.1007/BF03374182 |issn=0440-9213 |s2cid=162639733}} Rosemary oil is used in perfumes, shampoos, cleaning products, and aromatherapy.

Rosemary essential oil contains some 150 phytochemicals, including rosmarinic acid, camphor, A-pinene, caffeic acid, ursolic acid, betulinic acid, carnosic acid, and carnosol.{{cite journal|last1=Vallverdú-Queralt|first1=Anna|last2=Regueiro|first2=Jorge|last3=Martínez-Huélamo|first3=Miriam|last4=Rinaldi Alvarenga|first4=José Fernando|last5=Leal|first5=Leonel Neto|last6=Lamuela-Raventos|first6=Rosa M.|display-authors=3|year=2014|title=A comprehensive study on the phenolic profile of widely used culinary herbs and spices: Rosemary, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, cumin and bay|journal=Food Chemistry |volume=154 |pages=299–307|doi=10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.12.106|pmid=24518346}} Rosemary essential oil contains 10–20% camphor.

Rosemary extract, specifically the type mainly consisting of carnosic acid and carnosol, is approved as a food preservative in several countries, having E number E392.{{Cite journal |last1=Birtić |first1=Simona |last2=Dussort |first2=Pierre |last3=Pierre |first3=François-Xavier |last4=Bily |first4=Antoine C. |last5=Roller |first5=Marc|display-authors=3 |date=2015-07-01 |title=Carnosic acid |journal=Phytochemistry |language=en |volume=115 |pages=9–19 |doi=10.1016/j.phytochem.2014.12.026 |pmid=25639596 |issn=0031-9422|doi-access=free |bibcode=2015PChem.115....9B }}

Rosemary was considered sacred to ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks. In Don Quixote (Part One, Chapter XVII), the fictional hero uses rosemary in his recipe for balm of fierabras.{{cite journal |last=Capuano |first=Thomas M. |year=2005 |title=Las huellas de otro texto médico en Don Quijote: Las virtudes del romero |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Las+huellas+de+otro+texto+medico+en+don+Quijote%3a+las+Virtudes+del...-a0194333526 |journal=Romance Notes |language=es |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=303–310}} It was written about by Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE)Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, trans. John Bostock (London: Taylor and Francis, 1855) and Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40 CE to c. 90 CE), a Greek botanist (amongst other things). The latter talked about rosemary in his most famous writing, De Materia Medica, one of the most influential herbal books in history.{{cite book |last1=Pedanius Dioscorides of Anazarbos |title=De materia medica: Being an herbal with many other medicinal matters. Written in Greek in the first century of the common era |date=2000 |publisher=IBIDIS |isbn=0-620-23435-0 |editor1-last=Osbaldeston |editor1-first=Tess Anne |location=Johannesburg}}

The plant has been used as a symbol for remembrance during war commemorations and funerals in Europe and Australia.{{cite web|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/customs/rosemary.asp|title=Rosemary|publisher=Australian War Memorial|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219155712/https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/customs/rosemary.asp|archive-date=19 December 2013|access-date=10 November 2011}} Mourners would throw it into graves as a symbol of remembrance for the dead.

In Australia, sprigs of rosemary are worn on ANZAC Day and sometimes Remembrance Day to signify remembrance; the herb grows wild on the Gallipoli Peninsula, where many Australians died during World War I.

Several Shakespeare plays refer to the use of rosemary in burial or memorial rites. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ophelia says, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember."{{cite web|url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/doc/Ham_Q1M/scene/13/|last=Shakespeare|first=William|title=Hamlet, Scene 13|publisher=Internet Shakespeare|date=11 January 2019}} It likewise appears in Shakespeare's Winter's Tale in Act 4 Scene 4, where Perdita talks about "Rosemary and Rue".{{cite book |last1=Shakespeare |first1=William |title=The Winter's Tale |date=2005 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=139}} In Act 4 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence admonishes the Capulet household to "stick your rosemary on this fair corse, and as the custom is, and in her best array, bear her to church."{{cn|date=March 2023}} It is also said that "In the language of flowers it means 'fidelity in love.'"Brewer, E. Cobham, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 14th ed., London: Cassel, Petter, Galpin, and Co., no date [1880 per Google Books], p. 765.

Rosemary is one of the four herbs mentioned in the refrain of the folk song "Scarborough Fair."

In the Spanish fairy tale The Sprig of Rosemary, the heroine touches the hero with the titular sprig of rosemary in order to restore his magically lost memory.{{cite book |last1=Lang|first1=Andrew|title=The Pink Fairy Book |date=1897 |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co |page=237}}

Rosemary is used in Danube Swabian culture for christenings, weddings, burials and festivals; for example, an apple with a sprig of rosemary in it is used for Kirchweih celebrations.{{Cite web |title=Rosemary in the Life of the Danube Swabians by Hans Gehl |url=https://www.dvhh.org/heritage/Tullius/rosemary-life-DS-Gehl~Tullius.htm |access-date=2023-09-17 |website=www.dvhh.org}}

• Four thieves vinegar

{{clear}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Wikispecies|Rosmarinus officinalis}}

{{cookbook}}

• {{cite EB9 |wstitle = Rosemary |volume= XX | page=851 |short=1 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20041119180436/http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/plantdisp.xsql?taxon=873 Rosemary List of Chemicals (Dr. Duke's)]

{{Herbs & spices}}

{{Medicinal herbs & fungi}}

{{Transient receptor potential channel modulators}}

{{Taxonbar|from1=Q102240169|from2=Q122679}}

{{Authority control}}

rosmarinus

Category:Drought-tolerant plants

Category:Garden plants

Category:Herbs

Category:Matorral shrubland

Category:Flora of the Mediterranean basin

Category:Mediterranean cuisine

Category:Plants described in 1753

Category:Plants used in bonsai

Category:E-number additives

Category:Subshrubs