Satureja is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of aromatic plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

s of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Lamiaceae

Lamiaceae

The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...

, related to rosemary

Rosemary

Rosemary, , is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs, and is one of two species in the genus Rosmarinus...

 and thyme

Thyme

Thyme is a culinary and medicinal herb of the genus Thymus.-History:Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage...

. There are about 30 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 called savories, of which Summer savory

Summer savory

Summer savory is the better known of the savory species. It is an annual, but otherwise is similar in use and flavor to the perennial winter savory...

 and Winter savory

Winter savory

Winter savory is a perennial herb in the family Lamiaceae, native to warm temperate regions of southern Europe.It is a semi-evergreen, semi-woody subshrub growing to over tall. The leaves are opposite, oval-lanceolate, 1–2 cm long and 5 mm broad...

 are the most important in cultivation.

Description

Satureja species are native to warm temperate regions and may be annual

Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...

 or perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

. They are low-growing herb

Herb

Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...

s and subshrub

Subshrub

A subshrub or dwarf shrub is a short woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a similar term.It is distinguished from a shrub by its ground-hugging stems and lower height, with overwintering perennial woody growth typically less than 10–20 cm tall, or by being only weakly woody and/or persisting...

s, reaching heights of 15–50 cm.

The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are 1 to 3 cm long, with flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s forming in whorls on the stem, white to pale pink-violet.

Ecology and cultivation

Satureja species are food plants for the larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

 of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 (butterflies and moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

s). Caterpillars of the moth Coleophora bifrondella

Coleophora bifrondella

Coleophora bifrondella is a moth of the Coleophoridae family. It is found in Spain, France and Italy.The larvae feed on the leaves of Satureia montana....

feed exclusively on Winter savory

Winter savory

Winter savory is a perennial herb in the family Lamiaceae, native to warm temperate regions of southern Europe.It is a semi-evergreen, semi-woody subshrub growing to over tall. The leaves are opposite, oval-lanceolate, 1–2 cm long and 5 mm broad...

 (S. montana).

Savory may be grown purely for ornamental purposes; members of the genus need sun and well-drained soil.

Uses

Both summer savory and winter savory are used to flavor food. The former is preferred by cooks but as an annual is only available in summer; winter savory

Winter savory

Winter savory is a perennial herb in the family Lamiaceae, native to warm temperate regions of southern Europe.It is a semi-evergreen, semi-woody subshrub growing to over tall. The leaves are opposite, oval-lanceolate, 1–2 cm long and 5 mm broad...

 is an evergreen perennial, reputed to help ease flatulence

Flatulence

Flatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...

.

Savory plays an important part in Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...

, particularly when cooking beans. It is also used to season the traditional Acadian

Acadian

The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...

 stew known as fricot

Fricot

Fricot is a traditional Acadian dish. The word fricot has its origins in 18th century France where it was used to mean a feast. The following century, it had evolved to mean "meat stew", and later still it became used to refer to prepared food....

. Savory is also a key ingredient in sarmale, a stuffed cabbage dish in traditional Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

n cuisine.

Yerba Buena

Yerba Buena

Yerba buena is a rambling aromatic herb of western and northwestern North America, ranging from maritime Alaska southwards to Baja California Sur...

 (Spanish: "good herb"; S. douglasii) is used to make a herbal tea in the western United States.

Selected species

• Satureja acinos
• Satureja alpina
• Satureja coerulea
• Satureja cuneifolia
• Satureja douglasii – Yerba Buena
  Yerba Buena
  Yerba buena is a rambling aromatic herb of western and northwestern North America, ranging from maritime Alaska southwards to Baja California Sur...
  
   (syn. S. chamissonis)
• Satureja gillesii
  Satureja gillesii
  Satureja gillesii is a plant in the Lamiaceae family. Certain organic chemicals are derived from this species, which are useful to humans. S. gillesii occurs in parts of South America, one instance being in central Chile in the La Campana National Park area, in association with the endangered...
  
  
• Satureja hortensis – Summer Savory
  Summer savory
  Summer savory is the better known of the savory species. It is an annual, but otherwise is similar in use and flavor to the perennial winter savory...
  
  
• Satureja mexicana
• Satureja montana – Winter Savory
  Winter savory
  Winter savory is a perennial herb in the family Lamiaceae, native to warm temperate regions of southern Europe.It is a semi-evergreen, semi-woody subshrub growing to over tall. The leaves are opposite, oval-lanceolate, 1–2 cm long and 5 mm broad...
  
  
• Satureja multiflora – Chilean Shrub Mint
• Satureja palmeri (believed extinct; rediscovered 2001)
• Satureja rumelica
• Satureja spicigera
• Satureja thymbra
• Satureja viminea – Serpentine Savory
• Satureja viminea
• Satureja vulgaris – Wild Basil
  Wild basil
  "Wild basil" is a colloquial term for several plants of the mint family :* the genus Clinopodium, in particular:** Clinopodium vulgare ** Clinopodium ascendens...
  
  

Formerly in Satureja

• Browne's Savory, Clinopodium brownei (as Satureja brownei)
• San Miguel Savory
  Clinopodium chandleri
  Clinopodium chandleri is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name San Miguel savory. It is native to northern Baja California and several areas of southern California, where it can be found in mountain chaparral. It is a small shrub with slender branches up...
  
  , Clinopodium chandleri (as Satureja chandleri)
• Large-flowered Calamint, Calamintha grandiflora (as Satureja grandiflora)
• Stone Mint, Cunila mariana (as Satureja origanoides)

Etymology

The etymology of the Latin word 'satureia' is unclear. Speculation that it is related to saturare, to satyr

Satyr

In Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus — "satyresses" were a late invention of poets — that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing....

, or to za'atar

Za'atar

Za'atar is a generic name for a family of related Middle Eastern herbs from the genera Origanum , Calamintha , Thymus vulgaris and Satureja . It is also the name for a condiment made from the dried herb, mixed together with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices...

is not well supported.
The ancient Hebrew name is ṣathrá צתרה....