The plants around us. Volum II The plant around us. Volum II | Page 34

ORIGANUM VULGARE
Albanian: Rigoni egër
a
Catalan: Orenga
English: Oregano
Estonian: Harilik pune
Portuguese: Oregãos
Spanish: Orégano
Turkish: Kekik otu
This small white- or purple-
flowered
perennial
is
commonly called oregano. It
is a widely used herb in Greek
and Italian cuisine and is
often used in tomato dishes,
salads and with grilled meats.
Together with basil (Ocimum
basilicum), it is one of the
main flavouring ingredients of
Italian food.
Leaves
Its leaves are ovate, 10-40 mm long
and 5-25 mm wide, and borne opposite
each other on the stem. The edges of
the leaves are smooth or very
shallowly toothed, and the leaf tips
vary from acute to obtuse.
Authors: Adriano Barros, Ricardo Silva,
Rúben Verde