Origanum majorana L., Lamiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Majorana hortensis Moench; Majorana majorana (L.) H. Karst.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: marjoram, pot marjoram, sweet marjoram

French: marjolaine

Spanish: mayorama, mejorana, mejram

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Subshrub. Stems up to 80 cm, grey pubescent with antrorse hairs. Leaves up to 25 x 25 mm, oblong to suborbicular, obtuse, greyish white with short adpressed hairs, petiolate. Flowers in compact subglobose or 4-angled spikes, c. 6 x 4 mm. Bracts greyish white broad obovate, apically rounded, greyish white and gland-dotted. Calyx c. 2 x 1.5 mm, sheath-like, pubescent, gland-dotted. Corolla white, 3-7 mm. Nutlets suborbicular c. l x 1 mm"  (Flora of Pakistan online).

"A bushy half-hardy perennial sub-shrub that is often grown as an annual. It is 1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m) tall with descending, multi-branched stems that spill over to create a mound. Since the stems take root where they touch the soil, the mound gradually increases in diameter. If grown in a hanging basket, the stems form a a cascade of attractive gray-green foliage. Sweet marjoram's oval leaves are soft and fuzzy, but you need a hand lens to see the short fine hairs. They are opposite each other on a square stem, which is typical of plants in the mint family. The leaves get up to 1 in (2.5 cm) long and have a wonderful, very distinctive, perfumy fragrance when bruised. The flowers are tiny, less than 1/8 in (0.3 cm) long and arranged in burr-like heads 1/2 in (1.3 cm) long"  (Floridata).

Habitat/ecology:  "Sweet marjoram does best in a well-drained, slightly limey soil. It prefers full to nearly full sun"  (Floridata).

Propagation:  Seed and rooting from the nodes.

Native range:  Cyprus; northern Turkey; widely cultivated, sometimes naturalized, especially in the Mediterranean region (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 460, 463, 555) Voucher cited: Danton I(5/286)1631
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 460, 463, 555)
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Raivavae (Raevavae) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1995) (voucher ID: BISH 645406) Taxon name on voucher: Origanum majorana L.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1941) (voucher ID: BISH 460831) Taxon name on voucher: Origanum majorana L.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 69) Vouchers cited: Baumann 11509, MacKee 14281, MacKee 20956

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011) Massachusetts, Pennsylvania

Additional information:
Additional online information about Origanum majorana is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Origanum majorana as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Origanum majorana may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1941. Voucher specimen #BISH460831(Neal, M.C. s.n.).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1995. Voucher specimen #BISH645406(Flynn, T. 5811).

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Nasir, E./Ali, S. I., eds. 1985. Flora of Pakistan. Pakistan Ag. Res. Council, Islamabad. 1970-1985, 170 vols (also on-line edition).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.