Rosmarinus
Encyclopedia
Rosmarinus is a small genus of woody, perennial
herb
s with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves in the family Lamiaceae
, native to the Mediterranean Basin
.
), widespread in the Mediterranean region, and R. eriocalyx, native to northwest Africa
and southern Spain
. The latter differs from the well-known herb
rosemary in its smaller leaves
, only 5-15 mm long and less than 2 mm broad, and densely hairy flower stems. It also tends to be lower-growing, often under 25 cm tall and prostrate, and never exceeding 1 m tall (R. officinalis can reach 1.5 m, exceptionally 2 m, tall).
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves in the family Lamiaceae
Lamiaceae
The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...
, native to the Mediterranean Basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
.
Description
There are just two species, R. officinalis (RosemaryRosemary
Rosemary, , is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs, and is one of two species in the genus Rosmarinus...
), widespread in the Mediterranean region, and R. eriocalyx, native to northwest Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and southern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The latter differs from the well-known herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
rosemary in its smaller leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
, only 5-15 mm long and less than 2 mm broad, and densely hairy flower stems. It also tends to be lower-growing, often under 25 cm tall and prostrate, and never exceeding 1 m tall (R. officinalis can reach 1.5 m, exceptionally 2 m, tall).