medicinal herbs
Pot Marjoram
Origanum onites

• Medicinal herbs
• Natural herbs
• Latin names
• Common names

Herb: Pot Marjoram

Latin name: Origanum onites

Family: Labiatae

Medicinal use of Pot Marjoram:

The leaves and flowering stems are antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, cholagogue, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, stimulant, stomachic and mildly tonic. They are harvested in the summer and can be used fresh or dried.

Description of the plant:

Habitat of the herb:

Stony hills and rocky slopes, usually on limestone, occasionally in partial shade, to 1400 metres in Turkey.

Edible parts of Pot Marjoram:

Leaves - raw or cooked. They are used as a flavouring for salad dressings, vegetables and legumes and are best added in the final stages of cooking. A strong thyme-like aroma, the leaves are used as a substitute for oregano or marjoram, but they are inferior in flavour. A slightly bitter flavour, it is not nearly so sweet and delicate as O. majorana or O. vulgare. Its flavour, however, lasts longer in cooked dishes. A herb tea is made from the leaves.

Other uses of the herb:

An essential oil from the leaves is used as a food flavouring and in perfumery. The leaves and flowering stems are added to pot-pourri and scented articles. The plant is often used to disinfect bee hives.

Propagation of Pot Marjoram:

Seed - sow early spring at 10 - 13°C and only just cover the seed. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer. The seed can also be sown in situ in late spring. Division in March or October. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer. Basal cuttings of young barren shoots in June. Very easy. Harvest the shoots with plenty of underground stem when they are about 8 - 10cm above the ground. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.

Cultivation of the herb:

Stony hills and rocky slopes, usually on limestone, occasionally in partial shade, to 1400 metres in Turkey.

Known hazards of Origanum onites:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.