Rosemary

Salvia rosemarinus is also known as rosemary. This shrub, which is native to the Mediterranean, has evergreen, fragrant, needle-like leaves with white, pink or purple flowers. It was previously known as Rosmarinus. Now it is a synonym.

It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other medicinal and culinary herbs. The name “rosemary” derives from Latin ros marinus (“dew of the sea”). The plant is also sometimes called anthos, from the ancient Greek word anthos, meaning “flower”. Rosemary has a fibrous root system.

Description

Rosemary is an aromatic evergreen shrub with leaves similar to hemlock needles. It is native to the Mediterranean and Asia, but is reasonably hardy in cool climates. Some cultivars, such as ‘Arp”, can withstand temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius in winter. It can withstand droughts, surviving a severe lack of water for lengthy periods. In some parts of the world, it is considered a potentially invasive species. The seeds are often difficult to start, with a low germination rate and relatively slow growth, but the plant can live as long as 30 years.

The forms range from trailing to upright. They can reach 1.5m (4 ft 11in) high, and rarely 2m (6 ft 7in). The leaves are evergreen,

2-4 cm (3/4–1+1/2 in) long and 2-5 mm broad, green above, and white below, with dense, short, woolly hair.

Rosemary flowers in spring and summer in mild climates. However, they can also be in constant bloom during warm seasons. Flowers are white, pink or purple, and may be deep blue or purple. 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).

Taxonomy

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 R. officinalis, which is now considered a synonym of S. rosmarinus. The other species most often recognized is the closely related, Salvia jordanii (formerly Rosmarinus eriocalyx), of the Maghreb of Africa and Iberia.^{[citation needed]}

The name of ros marinus is the plant’s ancient name in classical Latin. Elizabeth Kent noted in her Flora Domestica (1823), “The botanical name of this plant is compounded of two Latin words, signifying Sea-dew; and indeed Rosemary thrives best by the sea.” Both the original and current genus names of the species were applied by the 18th-century naturalist and founding taxonomist Carl Linnaeus.^{[citation needed]}