FAMILY: Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
SYNONYMS: S. obovata, Calamintha montana.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A bushy perennial subshrub up to 40 cms high with woody stems at the base, linear leaves and pale purple flowers.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to the Mediterranean region, now found all over Europe, Turkey and the USSR. The oil is mainly produced in Spain, Morocco and Yugoslavia.
OTHER SPECIES: The creeping variety of the winter savory (S. montana subspicata) is also a well-known garden herb. See also summer savory (S. hortensis) and Botanical Classification section.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: It has been used as a culinary herb since antiquity, much in the same way as summer savory. It was used as a digestive remedy especially good for colic, and in Germany it is used particularly for diarrhoea.
When compared against many varieties of thyme, rosemary and lavender, recent research has shown ‘the net superiority of the anti microbial properties of essence of savory’..
ACTIONS: See summer savory.
EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the whole herb. (An oleoresin is also produced by solvent extraction.)
CHARACTERISTICS: A colourless or pale yellow liquid with a sharp, medicinal, herbaceous odour.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Mainly carvacrol, cymene and thymol, with lesser amounts of pinenes, limonene, cineol, borneol and terpineol.
SAFETY DATA: See summer savory.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE None. ‘Should not be used on the skin at all.’.
OTHER USES: Occasionally used in perfumery work. The oil and oleoresin are employed to some extent in flavouring, mainly meats and seasonings.
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