Satureja thymbra

What to Eat

Edible parts: Herb, Spice, Leaves - tea

The leaves have a thyme-like flavour and are used as a seasoning for pulses, savoury breads, brine-cured olives, and vegetables. The leaves and young shoots also make an excellent tea substitute, said to be among the best-tasting of all herb teas.

Where to Find It

It is a Mediterranean plant.

Australia, Europe, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mediterranean, Middle East, Spain, Syria, Turkey, Türkiye,

How to Identify

Cretan savory is a shrub reaching 40cm tall and wide at a medium growth rate. Hardy to UK zone 7, it flowers from May to June. Self-fertile with both male and female organs, the plant attracts wildlife. It tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils across mildly acidic to mildly alkaline pH ranges. The plant can grow in semi-shade or full sun and prefers moist soil.

How to Grow

Requires a sunny position in a well-drained soil. Plants are intolerant of soils that remain damp. Prefers a neutral to alkaline soil. This species is not very hardy outdoors in Britain, plants suffer damage at temperatures below freezing but they can be grown as annuals, flowering and setting seed in their first year. Plants will be hardier in soils that are very well drained and also if the soil is a bit on the poor side.

Propagation: Surface-sow seed in April in a greenhouse, keeping the compost moist at all times. Germination can be slow and erratic but usually occurs within a month. Prick seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle, and plant out during summer if growth permits; otherwise overwinter in a cold frame and plant out in late spring or early summer the following year. Half-ripe wood cuttings of 5–8cm taken at a node in July or August can be rooted in a frame, potted up in autumn, overwintered under cover, and planted out the following late spring or early summer — a high percentage usually succeed. Young wood cuttings, preferably with a heel, taken in April or May in a frame can be planted out in summer if growing well, or overwintered in a cold frame for planting out the following year. Division in early spring as growth begins works best when soil has been mounded into the bottom 20cm of the plant during the previous summer. Pot up divisions and grow on in a cold frame until established before planting out in summer.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are antibacterial, aromatic, digestive, expectorant, and tonic. They are used internally to treat minor digestive discomfort and bronchial congestion. Leaves can be harvested during the growing season and used fresh or dried.

Other Uses

A strong infusion of the herb is traditionally used in autumn to clean wine barrels ahead of the new vintage. An essential oil extracted from the plant contains 19% thymol and is also rich in carvacrol; it is used in the pharmaceutical industry. The plant is a good bee plant and is rarely if ever browsed by deer. It also functions as a dynamic accumulator.

Satureja thymbra, commonly known as savory of Crete, whorled savory, pink savory, and Roman hyssop (Arabic: za'atar rumi; za'atar franji), is a perennial-green dwarf shrub of the family Lamiaceae. It is noted for its dark-green leaves, which grow on numerous, closely compacted branches, reaching a height of 20–50 centimetres (8–19+1⁄2 in). Pink to purple flowers blossom between March and June. It is native to southeastern Europe and Libya, Africa.

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