香薄荷savory

一年生草本。茎稍木质化，分枝柔软，有芳香气味。叶广卵形，先端钝圆，浅绿色，对生。圆锥花序顶生或腋生。小坚果圆球形。种子棕色。花期夏初。

唇形科(Lamiaceae)一年生芳香草本植物，学名为Satureia hortensis。乾叶及开花的顶端部分可作多种食物(尤其是禽类及填馅)佐料，在德国称为豆草。乾叶绿棕色，味芳香带有温和辛辣味。原产於南欧，栽培于许多气候区，特别是法国和西班牙。古希腊人及古罗马人将香薄荷与百里香掺合用於野味及填馅的调味。凯撒时代，罗马人把香薄荷带入英格兰，殖民者再把它带到美洲。在美国很受欢迎。约含1％的香精油，主要成分是香芹酚(C10H14O)。山地香薄荷(S. montana, 即冬香薄荷或矮香薄荷)，是一种冬季开花的矮小亚灌木，作为调味料与夏季开花的上述种相差无几。（中国进出口网）

Savory is a perennial herb native to warm temperate regions of southern Europe. It is a semi-evergreen, semi woody sub shrub growing to over 230 cm tall. The leaves are opposite, oval-lanceolate, 1-2 cm long and 5 mm broad. The flowers are Pink. Winter savory has been purported to have antiseptic, aromatic, carminative, and digestive benefits. It has also been used as an expectorant and in the treatment of stings. The plant has a stronger action than the closely related summer savory. A sprig of the plant, rubbed onto bee or wasp stings, brings instant relief. The plant is harvested in the summer when in flower and can be used fresh or dried. The essential oil forms an ingredient in lotions for the scalp in cases of incipient baldness. An ointment made from the plant is used externally to relieve arthritic joints.