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| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
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Origanum onites (White Marjoram) |
Origanum onites (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 onitesL.
Published in Sp. Pl. : 590 (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) : | White Marjoram, Pot Marjoram |
Maltese name(s) : |
Riegnu abjad |
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]: Chameophyte ( small woody shrubs with vegetative buds well above the ground ) |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
May – September |
Colour of Flowers: |
White |
Toxicity: |
Not particularly toxic |
Name Derivation : |
Origanum: ()
onites: ()
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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 |
Dwarf shrub; stems up to 60 cm, erect, densely papillose and hirsute. Leaves 5-22 x 4-12(-17) mm, ovate to orbicular-ovate, rounded or cordate at base, acute or shortly acuminate, entire or remotely serrate, papillose and villous, glandular-punctate, with the veins somewhat raised on lower surface; lower leaves petiolate, the others sessile. Spicules 4-10 mm, ovoid, oblong or prismatic, very compact, forming a terminal, dense corymb 2-8(-10) cm in diameter. Bracts 3-3.5 mm, slightly exceeding the calyx, the lower ovate, acute, the upper orbicular-ovate, obtuse, puberulent. Calyx 2.75-3 mm, 1-lipped, with a deep slit on one side, ovate-spathulate, entire or minutely 3-dentate, subglabrous, glandular-punctate, ciliate. Corolla 4-5.5 mm, white. Nutlets c. 1 mm, oblong-ellipsoid. | |
Habitat in Europe |
Data will be available in the next update of this website.
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Preferred habitat in Malta |
Recorded on disturbed ground in the 1970s and never encountered again.
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Chromosome number(s) |
2n=30 | |
Distributional range |
Mediterranean region.
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Distributional maps from various sources |
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993) |
Crete, Greece, Doubtful in Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), ex-Jugoslavia, Sicily and/or Malta
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
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AE(G) Cr Gr Si Tu(A) [Tn]
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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 onites 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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Online Purchase (Images)
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Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
