Native to the Mediterranean, rosemary is now cultivated in temperate regions around the world. It is a perennial evergreen shrub with grayish-green needle-like leaves which are highly aromatic and have a unique flavour prized by cooks. Its flowers are generally pale blue.

History

As early as 500 BC rosemary was used as a culinary and medicinal herb by the Greeks and Romans. Greek scholars wore garlands of rosemary in their hair during examinations to improve their memory and concentration.

In the 6th century AD Charlemagne, King of the Franks, decreed that rosemary should be grown in all his imperial gardens Rosemary always had a reputation for strengthening the memory, and during Tudor times the plant became recognised as an emblem of fidelity and faithfulness. As a bride, Anne of Cleves "wore on her hair a circlet of gold and precious stones set full with dainty twigs of rosemary" when she married Henry VIII.

In the Elizabethan era, bridal couples wore rosemary entwined in wreaths to symbolize loyalty and constancy. Shakespeare was aware of this, when Ophelia says in Hamlet: "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance, pray you love, remember". Rosemary was also widely regarded as a symbol of friendship, and was exchanged by close friends as a token of enduring regard and affection.

The custom of carrying rosemary at funerals to honour the dead dates back as far as ancient Egypt. In Australia today rosemary is worn on ANZAC Day to honour the fallen in war.

The rosemary plant is strongly antiseptic and during the Middle Ages rosemary leaves were burned in sick chambers to freshen and purify the air. Branches were strewn in courts of law as a protection against goal fever. During the plague people wore dried rosemary in pouches around their necks, to breathe for protection against infections when travelling, and in Victorian times dried rosemary leaves were carried in the hollow handles of walking sticks for the same purpose.

In France, tradition held that if a man disliked like the scent of rosemary, he would probably be an uninspiring lover. Apparently Josephine demanded that Napoleon wash in rosemary water before entering her bedchamber, and the story goes that the Napoleon used 162 bottles of rosemary water in their first three months of marriage.

Legends & Folklore

Rosemary was regarded as a plant both mystical and holy. One well-known story tells how the Virgin Mary, when fleeing from Herod’s soldiers, spread her cloak over a white-flowering rosemary bush to dry. When she removed her cloak, she discovered the rosemary flowers beneath had turned blue in her honour.

It was widely believed that a rosemary plant grows upwards to the height of Christ for 33 years, then broadens out to emulate the spread of the Christian church.