Rosmarinus

Rosmarinus
Rosmarinus officinalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Nepetoideae
Tribe: Mentheae
Genus: Rosmarinus
L.[1]

Rosmarinus /ˌrɒsməˈrnəs/[2] is a small genus of woody, perennial herbs with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin.

Description

Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), widespread in the Mediterranean region, and Rosmarinus eriocalyx, native to northwest Africa and southern Spain have long been widely recognized. Rosmarinus tomentosus was first recognized as a separate species in 1941. Rosmarinus palaui was first described as a species in 2002, although recognition of this species remains controversial. Recent research has indicated that while R. tomentosus forms a monophyletic group, this group is nested within a paraphyletic R. eriocalyx.[3]

Rosmarinus eriocalyx differs from the well-known herb rosemary in its smaller leaves, only 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) long and less than 2 mm (0.079 in) broad, and densely hairy flower stems. It also tends to be lower-growing, often under 25 cm (9.8 in) tall and prostrate, and never exceeding 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall (R. officinalis can reach 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), exceptionally 2 m (6 ft 7 in), tall).

Species and nothospecies accepted by the Kew World Checklist[4]
  1. Rosmarinus eriocalyx Jord. & Fourr. - Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Libya
  2. Rosmarinus × lavandulaceus de Noé - Spain, Morocco, Algeria (R. eriocalyx × R. officinalis)
  3. Rosmarinus × mendizabalii Sagredo ex Rosua - Granada region of Spain (R. officinalis × R. tomentosus)
  4. Rosmarinus officinalis L. Rosemary - Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Cyprus, Turkey; naturalized in Bulgaria, Crimea, Azores, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Bermuda, Texas, central Mexico
  5. Rosmarinus palaui (O.Bolòs & Molin.) Rivas Mart. & M.J.Costa (syn of R. officinalis)
  6. Rosmarinus tomentosus Hub.-Mor. & Maire - southern Spain

References

  1. "Genus: Rosmarinus L.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2004-09-10. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  2. Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  3. Rossello, J.A.; et al. (2006). "Intragenomic diversity and phylogenetic systematics of wild rosemaries (Rosmarinus officinalis L. s.l., Lamiaceae) assessed by nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences (ITS)". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 262 (1-2): 1–12. doi:10.1007/s00606-006-0454-5. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  4. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families

Media related to Rosmarinus at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Rosmarinus at Wikispecies

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