Origanum syriacum
species of plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae
Origanum syriacum subsp. syriacum; syn. Majorana syriaca (also Origanum maru, although this primarily refers to a hybrid of O. syriacum), bible hyssop, Biblical-hyssop, Lebanese oregano or Syrian oregano, is an aromatic perennial herb in the mint family, Lamiaceae.
It is a preferred primary ingredient in the spice mixture za'atar.
O. syriacum is native to the Palestine region and was formerly used in ceremonial functions in the Temple in Jerusalem, such as for sprinkling the waters of a purification mixture made by the ashes of a burned red heifer on persons defiled by the dead.
Etymology
The Arabic word zaʿatar (Arabic: زَعْتَر), may refer to one of several plants, as well as the spice mixture of the same name which the plants are associated with. In many English translations of the Bible, ezov is rendered as hyssop, hence the common name for bible hyssop, believed to be a different plant generally identified with Hyssopus officinalis.
Problems with identification arise from Jewish oral tradition, where it expressly prohibits the use of Greek hyssop, and where the biblical plant is said to have been identical to the Arabic word za'atar (Origanum syriacum), which is not to be confused with other types of ezov that often bear an additional epithet, such as za'atar parsi (Thymus capitatus), zaatar rumi (Satureja thymbra), and zaatar mani (Clinopodium insulare).
Description
Origanum syriacum grows to a height of 1 meter. The plant is pollinated by bees.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Origanum syriacum” is species of plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Origanum, syriacum and species, not as a finished interpretation.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q13714507. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Origanum syriacum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.