Rosemary

Rosmarinus officinalis (now often placed in Salvia as S. rosmarinus), rosemary, is a dense, evergreen, aromatic shrub of the mint family, usually 0.5 to 1.5 m tall, with woody, branching stems. The leaves are crowded, narrow, and needle-like, leathery, dark green and glossy above and white-woolly beneath, with inrolled margins, and intensely fragrant from their abundant essential oil. The small two-lipped flowers, pale blue to violet (occasionally pink or white), are clustered in the upper leaf axils and bloom over a long season. The fruit consists of four small smooth nutlets enclosed in the persistent calyx. Native to the dry, rocky scrublands and coasts of the Mediterranean region, rosemary is cultivated worldwide as a culinary herb and ornamental and has a long history of medicinal use.