Origanum dictamnus
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(April 2008) |
| Origanum dictamnus | |
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Scientific classification
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Origanum |
| Species: | O. dictamnus
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| Binomial name | |
| Origanum dictamnus | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Origanum dictamnus,thedittany of Crete,Cretan dittanyorhop marjoram,is a tenderperennial plantthat grows 20–30 cm high. It is known inGreekasδίκταμο(díktamo,cf. "dittany") or in the Cretan dialect asέρωντας(erontas,"love" ). It is a therapeutic and aromatic plant that grows wild only on the mountainsides and gorges of the Greek island ofCrete.It is widely used for food flavouring and medicinal purposes, in addition to featuring as an ornamental plant in gardens. This small,lanateshrub is easily recognised by the distinctive soft, woolly covering of white-grey hair on its stems and round green leaves, giving it a velvety texture. Its tiny rose-pink flowers are surrounded by brighter purple-pinkbractsin summer and autumn.[2]The dittany is classified as vulnerable on theIUCN Red Listof Threatened Plant Species 1997.[3]
Description
[edit]Origanum dictamnusis a many branched plant with discoid to ovate, grey-green leaves that are sited in pairs opposite each other. The slender arching stems and lanate leaves are covered in a velvety white down and are 13–25 mm in size.
The flowers are pale pink to purple and have a deep lilac corolla with many deep pink coloured overlapping bracts. The colourful flowers forming a cascade of elongated clusters are in bloom in the summer months. The flowers are hermaphrodite, meaning they have both male and female organs, and are pollinated by bees attracted to their scent and bright colour.
The primary ingredients of itsessential oilwere found to becarvacrol(68.96%), β-phellandrene(18.34%) andp-cymene(4.68%).[4]
History
[edit]In antiquity, the herb was used to flavor wine, decorate temples and gardens, and as a medicinal panacea as well as an aphrodisiac.[5]There are numerous deaths reported throughout the centuries by collectors of this magical[citation needed]herb.
Even in recent times, the collection of dittany of Crete was a very dangerous occupation for the men who risked life and limb to climb precarious rock faces where the plant grows wild in the mountains of Crete. They were namederondades(love seekers) and were considered very passionate men to go to such dangerous lengths to collect the herb.
Dittany of Crete has always been highly prized; it is gathered while in bloom in the summer months, and is exported for use in pharmaceuticals, perfumery and to flavour drinks such asvermouthandabsinthe.
InAncient Greece,Hippocratesprescribed plant cures to aid all manner of ailments, and considered dittany of Crete useful forstomach achesand complaints of thedigestivesystem and as a poultice for healing wounds, as well as inducingmenstruation.[6]
The Greek philosopherAristotlein his workThe History of Animals(612a4) wrote: "Wild goats in Crete are said, when wounded by arrow, to go in search of dittany, which is supposed to have the property of ejecting arrows in the body."
The Greek scholar and philosopherTheophrastusagreed with Aristotle about the healing properties of dittany of Crete. In his workEnquiry into Plants,he noted that dittany was peculiar to Crete, and that it was "said to be true, that, if goats eat it when they have been shot, it rids them of the arrow" (9.16.1).
Other scholars of Ancient Greece and later have made reference to dittany, but probably referred toDictamnus albus,known as false or white dittany.
Today, the wild, naturally grown dittany of Crete is classed as "rare" and is protected by European law so it does not become extinct. The cultivation now centres on Embaros and the surrounding villages, south of Heraklion, Crete, and is used to make herbal tea and for use in natural beauty products.
Fiction
[edit]In Book XII.411–415 of Virgil'sAeneid,Venus heals the wounded Aeneas with dittany: “Hereupon Venus, smitten by her son’s cruel pain, with a mother’s care plucks from Cretan Ida a dittany stalk, [dictamnum genetrix Cretaea carpi ab Ida(412)] clothed with downy leaves and purple flowers; not unknown is that herb to wild goats, when winged arrows have lodged in their flanks.” (Loeb translation).
In Sonnet XCIII ofGaspara Stampa’sRime,published posthumously in 1554, she uses dittany as a metaphor for her lover Count Collaltino di Collalto:Egli è’l Dittamo mio, egli risana / La piaga mia(Lines 12-13).
In Canto XI of Tasso'sJerusalem Deliveredthe crusader leader, Godfrey, is healed by a dittany salve. This scene is a reference to Virgil's as the dittany used to heal Godfrey is fetched from Mount Ida and reference is also made to the idea that goats eat dittany when wounded.
Charles Baudelaire, in the poem,Tout entière,the 43rd poem in his collection,Les Fleurs du Mal,describes his lover as consisting entirely of dittany:Elle tout est dictame(line 11), she is entirely dittany, referring to the literary tradition of Virgil and Tasso, except that the wound Baudelaire suffers from is not as literal as those that plague Aeneas or Godfrey.
InHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,Hermione uses dittany to cure Ron after he was Splinched whileApparating.later it was used to heal burns after Harry, Hermione and Ron were injured in their raid on Bellatrix Lestrange's vault.
The book:The Honey Farm on the Hillby Jo Thomas. This fiction love story takes place in Crete and is essentially all about the preservation of the plant Dittany.
In the filmHereditary,the protagonist is tricked into a tea laced with dittany because it purportedly helps make the consumer more susceptible to demonic possession.
InCirce,the titular character finds dittany, described as the "queen of healing", amongst other ingredients onMount Dictein order to create a binding charm that would reduce the insatiable hunger of theMinotaurto three months of the year.
Aroma profile
[edit]Toxicology
[edit]- Antimicrobial activity againstListeria monocytogenes.[7][clarification needed]
References
[edit]- ^"The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".Retrieved24 June2015.
- ^"Our Plants | Mostly Natives Nursery".Mostlynatives. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-11-26.Retrieved2013-07-24.
- ^Walter, K.S. and Gillett, H.J. (1998) 1997IUCN Red Listof Threatened Plants. IUCN (The World Conservation Union), Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
- ^Skrubis, Byron (1979). "Origanum dictamus L.,a Greek native plant ".Journal of Ethnopharmacology.1(4).Elsevier:411–415.doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(79)80006-9.PMID544955.
- ^Kouremenos, Anna 2022.https:// academia.edu/38754667/_2022_Origanum_dictamnus_dittany_of_Crete_testaments_uses_and_trade_of_a_sacred_plant_in_antiquity.
- ^Buchanan, Ashley (2020-09-23)."Plant of the Month: Dittany".JSTOR Daily.Retrieved2020-09-27.
- ^abcdLiolios, C.C.; et al. (2009). "Liposomal incorporation of carvacrol and thymol isolated from the essential oil of Origanum dictamnus L. and in vitro antimicrobial activity".Food Chemistry.112(1).Elsevier:77–83.doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.05.060.
External links
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Media related toOriganum dictamnusat Wikimedia Commons
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