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Marjoram (ˈmɑːrdʒərəm; Origanum majorana) is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marjoram are used to distinguish it from other plants of the genus Origanum. It is also called pot marjoram, although this name is also used for other cultivated species of Origanum. Marjoram is indigenous to Cyprus, the Mediterranean, Turkey, Western Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Levant, and was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as a symbol of happiness. It may have spread to the British Isles during the Middle Ages. Marjoram was not widely used in the United States until after World War II. The name marjoram (Old French: majorane; majorana) does not directly derive from the Latin word maior (major). Marjoram is related to Samhain, the Celtic pagan holiday that would eventually become Halloween. It has also been used in Sephardi Jewish tradition as a ritual medical practice. Ancient Greeks believed the plant was created by Aphrodite. In one myth, the royal perfumer of Cyprus, Amaracus, was transformed into marjoram. To the Romans the herb was known as the herb of happiness, and was believed to increase lifespan. Marjoram is mentioned in Pedanius Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica, and was used by Hippocrates as an antiseptic. Today, marjoram is used largely for consumption. Its popularity may be due to the rise of low-fat and low-salt diets, which require more seasoning. Leaves are smooth, simple, petiolated, ovate to oblong-ovate, long, wide, with obtuse apex, entire margin, symmetrical but tapering base, and reticulate venation. The texture of the leaf is extremely smooth due to the presence of numerous hairs. Considered a tender perennial (USDA Zones 7–9), marjoram can sometimes prove hardy even in zone 5. Under proper conditions it spreads prolifically, and so is usually grown in pots to prevent it from taking over a garden.

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Marjoram

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