Origanum syriacum

Appearance

''Origanum syriacum'' grows to a height of 1 meter. The plant is pollinated by bees....hieroglyph snipped... Flowers are small and white or pale pink.

Naming

The plant may be called za'atar by association with its use in an herb-spice mixture. In Modern Hebrew, it is called ezov, and it may have been the ''ezov'' of Classical Hebrew. In many English translations of the Bible, ''ezov'' is rendered as hyssop, hence the common name for bible hyssop, believed to be a different plant generally identified with ''Hyssopus officinalis''. The problems with identification arise from Jewish oral tradition where it expressly prohibits Greek hyssop, and where the biblical plant is said to have been identical to the Arabic word, ''zaatar'' , and which word is not to be associated with other types of ''ezov'' that often bear an additional epithet, such as ''zaatar farsi'' = Persian-hyssop and ''zaatar rumi'' = Roman-hyssop and ''zaatar mani'' = calamint .

Distribution

''Origanum syriacum'' is native to the Middle East. In Egypt, ''Origanum syriacum'' subsp. ''sinaicum'' is a very rare plant that grows on stony ground in Sinai Peninsula including the coastal Mediterranean strip. From the conservation point of view it is an endangered plant.