Wild rosemary is an evergreen aromatic shrub with needle-like leaves, one of the most recognisable plant symbols of the Mediterranean scrub.
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Division | Magnoliophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Lamiales |
| Family | Lamiaceae |
| Genus | Rosmarinus |
| Species | Rosmarinus officinalis |
It is an evergreen aromatic shrub of up to 2 metres, with narrow, needle-shaped leaves, dark green on the upper side and whitish underneath. Its small bluish or lilac flowers appear practically all year round, although most intensely in spring.
In its wild form, grown outdoors in open countryside, it tends to have finer, more pointed leaves and a more intense aroma than specimens cultivated in gardens.
It is native to the whole Mediterranean basin, where it grows wild on sunny slopes, in scrubland and in garrigue on limestone and stony soils. It is an extraordinarily hardy plant, resistant to drought, wind and heat.
Its name comes from the Latin “ros marinus”, meaning “dew of the sea”, alluding to the cliffs and slopes close to the Mediterranean coast where it traditionally grew. Since antiquity it has been given symbolic meanings linked to remembrance and fidelity, in addition to its culinary and medicinal uses.
