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| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
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Origanum dictamnus (Dittany) |
Origanum dictamnus (LAMIACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.
Website launch: Oct-2002
Taxonomic update: Aug-2026
Code update: Jul-2026 |
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| Nomenclature and General Information |
Species name : |
Origanum dictamnusL.
Published in Sp. Pl. : 589 (1753) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
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Plant Family : |
Lamiaceae Lindl. (The Mint Family) Previously included in Labiatae
36 species from the Lamiaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Dittany, Dittany of Crete, Hop Marjoram |
Maltese name(s) : |
Rieġnu ta' Ġnien il-kbir |
Status for Malta : |
Casual or accidental alien. Species that was introduced in Malta rather recently and normally it is short-lived
or resticted to small populations for a short time, without becoming widespread or invasive. |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Hemicryptophyte ( perennial herbaceous plants with vegetative buds close to the ground ) |
Legal Protection : |
Protected by law: Schedule III of [S.L. 549.44] (Conservation requires the designation of SAC) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
May – September |
Colour of Flowers: |
Violet or Pink |
Toxicity: |
Not particularly toxic |
Name Derivation : |
Origanum: ()
dictamnus: Greek name for this perennial herb which is variously called dittany, gas plant, burning bush and fraxinella. The leaves and stem, which have a strong odour, give out a volatile oil, which, on a hot, still day, can be faintly ignited with a match. (Greek origin)
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Planting in rural areas : |
Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines |
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Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Botanical Description |
White-lanate dwarf shrub; stems up to 20 cm. Leaves 13-25 x 12-25 mm, broadly ovate to orbicular, entire, lanate, the veins raised, conspicuous; lower leaves shortly petiolate. Spicules in groups of 3-10, dense, ovoid or oblong, arranged in opposite pedunculate pairs, in lax panicles. Bracts 7-10 mm, conspicuous, purple, longer than calyx. Upper lip of calyx subentire, the lower shallowly toothed. Corolla pink, the tube twice as long as the calyx-tube. | |
Habitat in Europe |
Data will be available in the next update of this website.
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Preferred habitat in Malta |
Recorded in the past as an agricultural escape but may have been naturalised accidentally on rocky sides at Ġnien il-Kbir. It has never been reported again since late 1920s.
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Distributional range |
Crete
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Distributional maps from various sources |
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993) |
Crete
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
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Cr
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| Links & Further literature
(0 papers) |
Google Web |
Google Images |
Google Scholar |
Research Gate |
Wikipedia |
JSTOR |
GBIF |
Med Checklist |
Cat. of Life |
EoL |
IPNI |
World Flora Online |
Plants of the World Online |
Vienna Virt. Herb. |
RBGE Herbarium |
KEW Herbarium |
MNHN |
Garden Database |
IUCN |
TROPICOS |
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local
studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.
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| Species Images (0 images) | |
No images of Origanum dictamnus are available. If you can share your own images of this species with this website, please do so by using the image upload form below. Credits are given to the authors.
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Sales and Donations
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Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta: Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).
How it works: First, submit a quotation request by completing the Online Quotation Form (link provided on the right side of this table). Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive confirmation regarding seed availability, export eligibility (where applicable), pricing, and any transport charges. Payments are accepted by Revolut, bank transfer (IBAN), or PayPal only; credit and debit card payments are not accepted.
Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
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Online Quotation (Seeds)
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Buy Images: Purchase photographs from this extensive online collection of Maltese flora by Stephen Mifsud. Images are available at reasonable prices, with rates varying according to image size and resolution. Your purchase helps support the maintenance and development of this website. When placing an order, please note the image code displayed beneath each photograph on the corresponding species page, as this is required when completing the online order form. Images are normally supplied under a license agreement, with copyright retained by the author; however, the sale of copyright for exceptional images may be considered on request.
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Online Purchase (Images)
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Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
