Higher classification Nepetoídeae Subclass Asteridae | Scientific name Satureja Rank Genus | |
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Lower classifications Summer savory, Winter savory, Satureja gillesii Similar Savoury, Herb, Thyme, Hors d'oeuvre, Basil | ||
Planting summer savory seeds zaatar satureja hortensis
Satureja is a genus of aromatic plants of the family Lamiaceae, related to rosemary and thyme. It is native to North Africa, southern and southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. A few New World species were formerly included in Satureja, but they have all been moved to other genera. Several species are cultivated as culinary herbs called savory, and they have become established in the wild in a few places.
Contents
- Planting summer savory seeds zaatar satureja hortensis
- Pink savory herb pruning zaatar plant satureja thymbra
- Description
- Ecology and cultivation
- Uses
- Formerly in Satureja
- Etymology
- References
Pink savory herb pruning zaatar plant satureja thymbra
Description
Satureja species may be annual or perennial. They are low-growing herbs and subshrubs, reaching heights of 15–50 cm (5.9–19.7 in).
The leaves are 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) long, with flowers forming in whorls on the stem, white to pale pink-violet.
Ecology and cultivation
Satureja species are food plants for the larva of some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). Caterpillars of the moth Coleophora bifrondella feed exclusively on winter savory (S. montana).
Savory may be grown purely for ornamental purposes; members of the genus need sun and well-drained soil.
Uses
Both summer savory (Satureja hortensis) and winter savory (Satureja montana) are used to flavor food. The former is preferred by cooks but as an annual is only available in summer; winter savory is an evergreen perennial.
Savory plays an important part in Georgian, Bulgarian and Italian cuisine, particularly when cooking beans. It is also used to season the traditional Acadian stew known as fricot. Savory is also a key ingredient in sarmale, a stuffed cabbage dish in traditional Romanian cuisine. The modern spice mixture Herbes de Provence has savory as one of the principal ingredients.
In Azerbaijan, savory is often incorporated as a flavoring in black tea.
- Satureja adamovicii Šilic - Balkans
- Satureja aintabensis P.H.Davis - Turkey
- Satureja amani P.H.Davis - Turkey
- Satureja atropatana Bunge - Iran
- Satureja avromanica Maroofi - Iran
- Satureja bachtiarica Bunge - Iran
- Satureja boissieri Hausskn. ex Boiss. - Turkey, Iran
- Satureja bzybica Woronow - Caucasus
- Satureja × caroli-paui G.López - Spain (S. innota × S. montana)
- Satureja cilicica P.H.Davis - Turkey
- Satureja coerulea Janka - Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey
- Satureja cuneifolia Ten - Spain, Italy, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, Iraq
- Satureja × delpozoi Sánchez-Gómez, J.F.Jiménez & R.Morales - Spain (S. cuneifolia × S. intricata var. gracilis)
- Satureja edmondii Briq. - Iran
- Satureja × exspectata G.López - Spain (S. intricata var. gracilis × S. montana)
- Satureja fukarekii Šilic - Yugoslavia
- Satureja hellenica Halácsy - Greece
- Satureja hortensis L. – summer savory - Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Yugoslavia, Crimea, Caucasus, Altai Republic, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, western Himalayas; naturalized in western Mediterranean, Persian Gulf sheikdoms, Cuba, Dominican Republic, scattered locations in United States
- Satureja horvatii Šilic - Greece, Yugoslavia
- Satureja icarica P.H.Davis - Greek Islands
- Satureja innota (Pau) Font Quer - Spain
- Satureja intermedia C.A.Mey. - Iran, Caucasus
- Satureja intricata Lange - Spain
- Satureja isophylla Rech.f. - Iran
- Satureja kallarica Jamzad - Iran
- Satureja kermanshahensis Jamzad - Iran
- Satureja khuzistanica Jamzad - Iran
- Satureja kitaibelii Wierzb. ex Heuff. - Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia
- Satureja laxiflora K.Koch - Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Caucasus
- Satureja linearifolia (Brullo & Furnari) Greuter - Cyrenaica region of Libya
- Satureja macrantha C.A.Mey. - Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Caucasus
- Satureja metastasiantha Rech.f. - Iraq
- Satureja montana L. – winter savory - southern Europe, Turkey, Syria
- Satureja mutica Fisch. & C.A.Mey. - Caucasus, Iran, Turkmenistan
- Satureja nabateorum Danin & Hedge - Jordan
- Satureja × orjenii Šilic - Yugoslavia (S. horvatii × S. montana)
- Satureja pallaryi J.Thiébaut - Syria
- Satureja parnassica Heldr. & Sart. ex Boiss. - Greece, Turkey
- Satureja pilosa Velen. - Italy, Greece, Bulgaria
- Satureja rumelica'' Velen. - Bulgaria
- Satureja sahendica Bornm. - Iran
- Satureja salzmannii (Kuntze) P.W.Ball - Morocco, Spain
- Satureja spicigera (K.Koch) Boiss. - Turkey, Iran, Caucasus
- Satureja spinosa L. - Turkey, Greek Islands including Crete
- Satureja subspicata Bartl. ex Vis. - Austria, Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Italy
- Satureja taurica Velen. - Crimea
- Satureja thymbra L. - Libya, southeastern Europe from Sardinia to Turkey; Cyprus, Lebanon, Palestine
- Satureja thymbrifolia Hedge & Feinbrun - Israel, Saudi Arabia
- Satureja visianii Šilic. - Yugoslavia
- Satureja wiedemanniana (Avé-Lall.) Velen. - Turkey
Formerly in Satureja
Etymology
The etymology of the Latin word 'satureia' is unclear. Speculation that it is related to saturare, to satyr, or to za'atar is not well supported. The ancient Hebrew name is ṣathrá צתרה.