OREGANO

ORIGANUM VULGARE

Oregano (Oregano Volgare L.) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family, like thyme and sage. It is native to the warm-temperate zones of the Mediterranean and the south west of Asia.
It is a fairly hardy plant which prefers full sunlight and well drained soils.
Oregano is a creeping plant whose stalks, densely covered in hairs, grow along the ground branching out upwards. Its root system is woody with a great number of rhizomes, secondary roots that grow horizontally below the surface of the ground, and from which new stalks sprout.  
The leaves are small, elongated-oval shaped, bright green in colour and not always covered in hairs.
Its white or pinkish flowers, crowded in apical inflorescences, can be seen during the hotter periods of the year. Oregano can be collected by cutting the small stalks and hanging them in bunches to dry. The best period to harvest them coincides with flowering, when the leaves have the highest concentration of essential oils.
Oregano is appreciated in the kitchen thanks to its flavour, while in the field of herbal medicine, it is used for its digestive and antiseptic properties, like thyme.