Marjoram
Origanum majorana
A low, softly downy subshrub with square stems and small grey-green oval leaves, grown for its sweet, warm flavour. Tiny white or pale pink flowers open from tight green bracts that look like little knots, hence the older name knotted marjoram. Milder and sweeter than oregano, it is best added late in cooking or used fresh, as the scent fades with long heat.
Not a British native. Native to southern Turkey and Cyprus, and in the UK almost entirely a garden and container plant, wanting full sun and sharply drained, limy soil. Tender, so it rarely survives a wet winter and does not naturalise.
Generally safe as a culinary herb and there are no dangerous wild lookalikes in Britain, since it does not persist outside cultivation. The concentrated essential oil is not for internal use, and medicinal-strength preparations are traditionally avoided in pregnancy. Handling the foliage can irritate skin in people sensitive to other mints and sages.
Always use more than one reference to confirm a plant. You are responsible for what you choose to forage.
Habit and stems
A bushy, wiry subshrub 30–50cm tall, branching from the base, with square stems that are downy all round. Frost-tender, so plants collapse and blacken in autumn rather than dying back to a hardy crown.
Leaves
Small oval leaves, roughly 1–2cm long, in opposite pairs on short stalks, grey-green and softly hairy on both surfaces with untoothed edges. The grey cast and felted feel separate it from the darker, glossier, near-hairless leaves of common oregano.
Flower knots
Flowers sit in tight rounded heads of overlapping green bracts that look like small knots or cones, with minute white to pale pink flowers pushing out between them. The knot is the single most reliable field feature and is present even before the flowers open.
Scent on crushing
Crushed leaves give a sweet, warm, slightly piney and citrus-edged scent, gentler than oregano. A harsh, peppery, medicinal pungency indicates oregano or one of the hot Mediterranean oreganos rather than this plant.
Updated 2026-08-08T11:01:32.317Z · Part of the shared Foragers Log catalogue · Herb