Herb
Salvia rosmarinus
A tier
Salvia rosmarinus is the current botanical name for rosemary (formerly Rosmarinus officinalis)—needle leaves, resinous pine-camphor aroma, and the backbone of Mediterranean roast cookery. The reclassification sits it inside Salvia without changing kitchen behaviour. Use woody sprigs for lamb, chicken, potatoes, and focaccia; strip leaves for fine chop. The binomial on plant labels still means true culinary rosemary.
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Characteristics
Preparations
BreadFresh SprigGrillOilRoasts
Traits
Current BinomialMediterraneanPine ResinResinous NeedleRobustSpecies TrueTrue Rosemary
History
IT
Mediterranean cultures used rosemary as food, medicine, and ritual plant.
Linnaeus placed rosemary as Rosmarinus officinalis for centuries of horticulture.
Phylogenetic work moved rosemary into Salvia as S. rosmarinus.
Nurseries gradually adopted Salvia rosmarinus on tags beside the old name.