Winter savory
Satureja montana
Family · Lamiaceae · Harmless
The strongest seasoning of limestone scrub: a stiff subshrub of narrow pungent leaves smelling between thyme and pepper, flowering white at the end of summer.
Uplands · Scrubland · Fields and pasture
Also known asmountain savory
How to tell it
A subshrub twenty to forty centimetres, much branched, with woody stems at the base. Narrow, stiff leaves ending in a sharp point, with glands visible against the light. White or pale pink two-lipped flowers in loose whorls in the upper axils. A strong pungent scent when rubbed, unmistakable.
What it is confused with
Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
Thyme has small leaves with the margin rolled under and a thyme smell; savory has larger, flat, sharp-tipped leaves and a clearly more pungent scent. Both are good seasonings.
What it is for
A traditional seasoning for olives, cured meats and beans across the Peninsula, and one of the few scrub herbs still genuinely used in the kitchen. Gather little, and only what is flowering, never pulling the plant up.
Traditionally used as food. This is not permission to eat it.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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