mmonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and purple or sometimes white, pink, or blue flowers. It is a member of the sage family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean region, as well as Portugal and Spain. It has a number of cultivars, and its leaves are commonly used as a flavoring. Description rosemary leaves S. rosmarinus 'Prostratus' Salvia rosmarinus (MHNT) Rosemary has a fibrous root system. It forms an aromatic evergreen shrub with leaves similar to Tsuga needles. Forms range from upright to trailing; the upright forms can reach between 1.2–1.8 metres (4–6 ft) tall. The leaves are evergreen, 2–4 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) long and 2–5 mm (1⁄16–3⁄16 in) broad, green above, and white below, with dense, short, woolly hair. This plant flowers in spring and summer in temperate climates, but the plants can be in constant bloom in warm climates; flowers are white, pink, purple, or deep blue. The branches are dotted with groups of 2 to 3 flowers down their length. Rosemary also tends to flower outside its normal flowering season; it has been known to flower as late as early December, and as early as mid-February (in the Northern Hemisphere). The plant can live as long as 35 years. Similar species Salvia jordanii (formerly Rosmarinus eriocalyx) is a closely related species native to Iberia and the Maghreb of Africa. Taxonomy Rosemary plant Salvia rosmarinus is now considered one of many hundreds of species in the genus Salvia. Formerly it was placed in a much smaller genus, Rosmarinus, which contained only two to four species including Rosmarinus officinalis (/?r?sm??ra?n?s ??f?s??ne?l?s/), which is now considered a synonym. Both the original and current genus names of the species were applied by the 18th-century naturalist and founding taxon