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Marjoram (Origanum
Origanum

Origanum is a genus of about 20 species of aromatic herbs in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to eastern Asia. The genus includes some important culinary herbs, including Marjoram and Oregano....
 majorana, Lamiaceae
Lamiaceae

Lamiaceae or Labiatae, also known as the mint family, is a family of plants comprising about 210 genera and some 3,500 species. It has been considered closely related to Verbenaceae but several recent phylogenetic studies have shown that numererous genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae, whereas the core genera of...
) is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial
Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
 herb
Herb

A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like....
 or undershrub with sweet pine
Pine

Pines are Pinophyta trees in the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species....
 and citrus
Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world....
 flavours. It is also called Sweet Marjoram or Knotted Marjoram and Majorana hortensis.

The name marjoram (Old French
Old French

Old French was the Romance languages dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300....
 majorane, Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin

Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration....
 majorana) does not directly derive from the Latin word maior (major). Marjoram is indigenous to the Mediterranean area and was known to the Greeks and Romans as a symbol of happiness.

Marjoram is cultivated for its aromatic leaves, either green or dry, for culinary purposes; the tops are cut as the plants begin to flower and are dried slowly in the shade.






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Marjoram (Origanum
Origanum

Origanum is a genus of about 20 species of aromatic herbs in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region east to eastern Asia. The genus includes some important culinary herbs, including Marjoram and Oregano....
 majorana, Lamiaceae
Lamiaceae

Lamiaceae or Labiatae, also known as the mint family, is a family of plants comprising about 210 genera and some 3,500 species. It has been considered closely related to Verbenaceae but several recent phylogenetic studies have shown that numererous genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae, whereas the core genera of...
) is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial
Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
 herb
Herb

A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like....
 or undershrub with sweet pine
Pine

Pines are Pinophyta trees in the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species....
 and citrus
Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world....
 flavours. It is also called Sweet Marjoram or Knotted Marjoram and Majorana hortensis.

The name marjoram (Old French
Old French

Old French was the Romance languages dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300....
 majorane, Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin

Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration....
 majorana) does not directly derive from the Latin word maior (major). Marjoram is indigenous to the Mediterranean area and was known to the Greeks and Romans as a symbol of happiness.

Marjoram is cultivated for its aromatic leaves, either green or dry, for culinary purposes; the tops are cut as the plants begin to flower and are dried slowly in the shade. It is often used in herb combinations such as Herbes de Provence
Herbes de Provence

Herbes de Provence is a mixture of dried herbs from Provence invented in the 1970s.The mixture typically contains rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, thyme, and sometimes lavender flowers and other herbs....
 and Za'atar
Za'atar

Za'atar , also spelled satar, zahatar or zatr, is a mixture of herbs and spices used as a condiment with Middle Eastern origins....
.

The flowering leaves and tops of Marjoram are steam distilled to produce an essential oil
Essential oil

An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove....
 that is yellowish in color (darkening to brown as it ages). It has many chemical components, some of which are borneol
Borneol

Borneol is a bicyclic organic compound and a terpene. The hydroxyl group in this compound is placed in an Endo-exo isomerism position. Isoborneol is its exo isomer....
, camphor
Camphor

Camphor is a waxy, white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is a terpenoid with the chemical formula carbon10hydrogen16oxygen....
, origanol and pinene
Pinene

The chemical compound pinene is a bicyclic terpene known as a monoterpene . There are two structural isomers found in nature: Alpha-Pinene and Beta-pinene....
.

Although considered cold-sensitive, marjoram can sometimes prove hardy even in zone 5
Hardiness zone

A hardiness zone is shown on the scale to our right; or usually shown on a map . These zones show a geographically-defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including it's ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone....
.

Related species

Oregano (Origanum vulgare, sometimes listed with Marjoram as Origanum majorana) is also called Wild Marjoram. It is a perennial common in southern Europe
Southern Europe

The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean 'all countries in the south of Europe'. However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional Policy, Linguistics and Culture context to the definition in addition to the typical Geography, Phytogeography or Clime approach....
 in dry copses and on hedge-banks, with many stout stems 30-80 cm high, bearing short-stalked somewhat ovate leaves and clusters of purple flowers. It has a stronger flavor and a more penetrating quality.

Pot Marjoram or Cretan Oregano (Origanum onites) has similar uses to marjoram. Hardy Marjoram or French marjoram is a cross of marjoram with oregano
Oregano

Oregano or is a species of Origanum, native to Europe, the Mediterranean region and southern and central Asia. It is a perennial plant herb, growing to 20-80 cm tall, with opposite leaf 1-4 cm long....
 that is much more resistant to cold, but is slightly less sweet.

Origanum pulchellum
Origanum pulchellum

Origanum pulchellum is an ornamental plant, which is native of Asia.External links...
, Showy Marjoram or Showy Oregano.

(Catalan
Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
 marduix; Spanish
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
 mejorana; Romanian
Romanian language

Romanian or Daco-Romanian ; self-designation: limba rom?na, ) is a Romance languages spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova....
 maghiran)

External links