Rosemary

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves. It is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which also includes many other herbs.

Rosemary
Rosemary in flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Rosmarinus
Species:	R. officinalis
Binomial name
Rosmarinus officinalis L.

Cultivation

Numerous cultivars have been selected for garden use. The following are frequently sold:

• Albus- white flowers
• Arp- leaves light green, lemon-scented
• Aureus- leaves speckled yellow
• Benenden Blue - leaves narrow, dark green
• Blue Boy - dwarf, small leaves
• Golden Rain - leaves green, with yellow streaks
• Irene - lax, trailing
• Lockwood de Forest - procumbent selection from Tuscan Blue
• Ken Taylor - shrubby
• Majorica Pink - pink flowers
• Miss Jessop's Upright - tall, erect
• Pinkie - pink flowers
• Prostratus
• Pyramidalis (a.k.a Erectus) - pale blue flowers
• Roseus - pink flowers
• Salem - pale blue flowers, cold hardy similar to Arp
• Severn Sea - spreading, low-growing, with arching branches; flowers deep violet
• Tuscan Blue - upright

Images

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  Rosemary Sprig
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  Flower
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  A rosemary bush with many flowers
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  Leaves, the brighter side is the underside, and some have parts of young shoots or old stem attached
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  A shoot of the cultivar 'Irene'
• 
  A Rosemary bush at Longwood Gardens
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  From Koehler's Medicinal Plants, 1887
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  Rosemary potatoes
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  Rosmarinus officinalis - Museum specimen
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  Salvia rosmarinus - Museum specimen - wood