Rosemary

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.

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.

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

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