Satureja

Ecology and cultivation

Satureja species are food plants for the larva of some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). Caterpillars of the moth Coleophora bifrondella feed exclusively on winter savory (S. montana).

Savory may be grown purely for ornamental purposes; members of the genus need sun and well-drained soil.

Uses

Both summer savory (Satureja hortensis) and winter savory (Satureja montana) are used to flavor food. The former is preferred by cooks but as an annual is only available in summer; winter savory is an evergreen perennial.

Savory plays an important part in Persian, Armenian, Georgian, Bulgarian and Italian cuisine, particularly when cooking beans. It is also used to season the traditional Acadian stew known as fricot. The modern spice mixture Herbes de Provence has savory as one of the principal ingredients.

In Azerbaijan, savory is often incorporated as a flavoring in black tea.

Species

Source:

• Satureja adamovicii Šilic – Balkans
• Satureja aintabensis P.H.Davis – Turkey
• Satureja amani P.H.Davis – Turkey
• Satureja atropatana Bunge – Iran
• Satureja avromanica Maroofi – Iran
• Satureja bachtiarica Bunge – Iran
• Satureja boissieri Hausskn. ex Boiss. – Turkey, Iran
• Satureja bzybica Woronow – Caucasus
• Satureja × caroli-paui G.López – Spain (S. innota × S. montana)
• Satureja cilicica P.H.Davis – Turkey
• Satureja coerulea Janka – Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey
• Satureja cuneifolia Ten – Spain, Italy, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, Iraq
• Satureja × delpozoi Sánchez-Gómez, J.F.Jiménez & R.Morales – Spain (S. cuneifolia × S. intricata var. gracilis)
• Satureja edmondii Briq. – Iran
• Satureja × exspectata G.López – Spain (S. intricata var. gracilis × S. montana)
• Satureja fukarekii Šilic – Yugoslavia
• Satureja hellenica Halácsy – Greece
• Satureja hortensis L. – summer savory – Italy, Bulgaria, Albania, Yugoslavia, Crimea, Caucasus, Altai Republic, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, western Himalayas; naturalized in western Mediterranean, Persian Gulf sheikdoms, Cuba, Dominican Republic, scattered locations in United States
  • The heterogeneous mixture of the Satureja hortensis L. essential oil in water serves as a natural herbicide. The addition of this mixture inhibits the root elongation of weeds which reduces the weed's root-to-shoot ratio. This further reduces the weed's cell division and inhibits its germination, growth, and physiological processes.
• Satureja horvatii Šilic – Greece, Yugoslavia
• Satureja icarica P.H.Davis – Greek Islands
• Satureja innota (Pau) Font Quer – Spain
• Satureja intermedia C.A.Mey. – Iran, Caucasus
• Satureja intricata Lange – Spain
• Satureja isophylla Rech.f. – Iran
• Satureja kallarica Jamzad – Iran
• Satureja kermanshahensis Jamzad – Iran
• Satureja khuzistanica Jamzad – Iran
• Satureja kitaibelii Wierzb. ex Heuff. – Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia
• Satureja laxiflora K.Koch – Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Caucasus
• Satureja linearifolia (Brullo & Furnari) Greuter – Cyrenaica region of Libya
• Satureja macrantha C.A.Mey. – Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Caucasus
• Satureja metastasiantha Rech.f. – Iraq
• Satureja montana L. – winter savory – southern Europe, Turkey, Syria
• Satureja mutica Fisch. & C.A.Mey. – Caucasus, Iran, Turkmenistan
• Satureja nabateorum Danin & Hedge – Jordan
• Satureja × orjenii Šilic – Yugoslavia (S. horvatii × S. montana)
• Satureja pallaryi J.Thiébaut – Syria
• Satureja parnassica Heldr. & Sart. ex Boiss. – Greece, Turkey
• Satureja pilosa Velen. – Italy, Greece, Bulgaria
• Satureja rumelica Velen. – Bulgaria
• Satureja sahendica Bornm. – Iran
• Satureja salzmannii (Kuntze) P.W.Ball – Morocco, Spain
• Satureja spicigera (K.Koch) Boiss. – Turkey, Iran, Caucasus
• Satureja spinosa L. – Turkey, Greek Islands including Crete
• Satureja subspicata Bartl. ex Vis. – Austria, Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Italy
• Satureja taurica Velen. – Crimea
• Satureja thymbra L. – Libya, southeastern Europe from Sardinia to Turkey; Cyprus, Lebanon, Palestine
• Satureja thymbrifolia Hedge & Feinbrun – Israel-Palestine, Saudi Arabia
• Satureja visianii Šilic. – Yugoslavia
• Satureja wiedemanniana (Avé-Lall.) Velen. – Turkey

Formerly in Satureja

• Browne's savory, Clinopodium brownei (as Satureja brownei)
• San Miguel Savory, Clinopodium chandleri (as Satureja chandleri)
• Large-flowered calamint, Clinopodium grandiflorum (as Satureja grandiflora)
• Stone mint, Cunila mariana (as Satureja origanoides)
• Satureja acinos (L.) Scheele = Clinopodium acinos (L.) Kuntze
• Satureja alpina (L.) Scheele = Clinopodium alpinum (L.) Kuntze
• Satureja biflora (Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) Benth = Micromeria biflora (Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) Benth
• Satureja gilliesii (Graham) Briq. = Clinopodium chilense (Benth.) Govaerts
• Satureja mexicana (Benth.) Briq. = Clinopodium mexicanum (Benth.) Govaerts
• Satureja multiflora (Ruiz & Pav.) Briq. – Chilean shrub mint = Clinopodium multiflorum (Ruiz & Pav.) Kuntze
• Satureja palmeri (A.Gray) Briq. (believed extinct; rediscovered 2001) = Clinopodium palmeri (A.Gray) Kuntze
• Satureja paradoxa (Vatke) Engl. ex Seybold = Clinopodium paradoxum (Vatke) Ryding
• Satureja robusta (Hook.f) Brenan = Clinopodium robustum (Hook.f) Ryding
• Satureja viminea L. – serpentine savory = Clinopodium vimineum (L.) Kuntze
• Satureja vulgaris (L.) Fritschl = Clinopodium vulgare L.
• Satureja vernayana Brenan = Clinopodium vernayanum (Brenan) Ryding
• Satureja douglasii (Benth.) Briq. – yerba buena (syn. S. chamissonis) = Micromeria douglasii Benth

Etymology

The etymology of the Latin word "satureia" is unclear. Speculation that it is related to saturare, to satyr, or to za'atar is not well supported. The ancient Hebrew name is Tzatrah צתרה.