Wild Marjoram, Origanum vulgare

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Gatekeeper butterfly on Wild Marjoram.

Gatekeeper butterfly on Wild Marjoram (Origanum vulgare).

I’m always cheered by the sight of a Gatekeeper butterfly (Pyronia tithonus) and the most likely place for me to find one is on flowers of Wild Marjoram, Origanum vulgare. Numbers in the garden have been high this summer and fortunately Wild Marjoram, which they visit for nectar, is tolerant of droughts like the one we’re having this year and is in full flower at the moment (note 1). Wild Marjoram normally flowers from July to September, though it started in June this year.

Common Marjoram flowers

Close up of Wild Marjoram flowers

Wild Marjoram in the Garden

I first encountered Wild Marjoram, Origanum vulgare, in the garden, where it was one my Dad’s favourite plants. I’ve grown it ever since, in the garden and on the allotment. It’s very adaptable and thrives in sun or semi-shade on well-drained soils, whether chalk, sand or loam. It isn’t fussy about pH – soils can be alkaline, neutral or acid. It is also very hardy (down to -15 Celsius). Plants grow around 50 – 80 centimetres (20 – 30 inches) tall and form a  gradually spreading clump, gradually spreading by runners or stolons.

Wild Marjoram is woody but is a hardy perennial and dies back in winter, leaving the old stems. I cut these old stems off in early spring before the plant puts on its new season’s growth. I grow Wild Marjoram in borders with other hardy perennials; it also does well in a bed with other herbs or in a large pot. Plants can be divided easily when dormant and will often seed gently around the garden. The RHS website gives advice on growing Origanum vulgare.

Wild Marjoram (Origanum vulgare) at the allotment.

Nurseries stock several varieties of Origanum vulgare and Wikipedia lists 54 species and hybrids of Origanum. I’ve used Origanum vulgare ‘Aureum’ (with golden leaves) and Origanum ‘Hot and Spicy’ (shorter plants with a hotter, spicier taste) in community gardening projects but in my own garden I’m happy with the “normal” variety. Even this can vary in the shade of its flowers.

Marjoram with darker flowers, at the allotment.

Wild Marjoram with darker flowers, at the allotment.

Origanum vulgare is a member of the Lamiaceae (Mint family), along with many other herbs. I’ve already written about some of them, including Water Mint (Mentha aquatica), Basil Thyme (Clinopodium acinos), White Deadnettle (Lamium album) and Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis).

The closely related Pot or Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana) is much less hardy plant and is best overwintered in the shelter of an unheated greenhouse, but it is “recommended in culinary circles for its flavour“.

Wild Marjoram in the Kitchen

Another name for Origanum vulgare is Oregano, from Spanish, Latin and ultimately the Greek “oros” (mountain) and “ganos” (joy), literally meaning “Joy of the Mountain”.

Many recipes call for oregano and it’s a very versatile herb which goes equally well with vegetables or meat. The flowers, leaves and stems are edible, though it is the leaves that are usually picked.

I use fresh Wild Marjoram leaves from the garden in Greek salad, a favourite lunch when homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers are in season. Otherwise, I tend to use the dried herb, which has a stronger taste. It partners well with spices such as chilli and cumin.

Wild Marjoram grown in southern Europe has a much stronger flavour than our homegrown leaves and dried oregano will usually contain leaves from southern European countries, such as Greece. Related species such as Origanum onites (Pot Marjoram) and Origanum majorana (Pot or Sweet Marjoram) may be used (note 2).

My friend and allotment neighbour Rosemary sometimes gives me a pot of oregano that had been gathered from Wild Marjoram harvested on a Greek hillside. It has a superb flavour.

Wild Origanum vulgare

Marjoram at Grimston Heath

Wild Marjoram (Origanum vulgare) at Grimston Heath, Norfolk

Wild Marjoram, Origanum vulgare, is native to Europe, much of Asia and Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco in North Africa. It has been introduced into North America, New Zealand and parts of China.

In the British Isles it is a native (outside the Channel Islands). It is found in most 10km squares in England and Wales and gradually becomes scarcer in the west of Scotland and the west and north of Ireland.

Wild Marjoram grows on dry, infertile, calcareous soils. It can be found in grassland, hedge banks and scrub. It is a colonist of bare or sparsely vegetated ground, including quarries, pavements and road verges. It is also occasionally naturalised from gardens. In tougher growing conditions plants are usually less vigorous than ones grown in good garden soil.

Distribution of Wild Marjoram (Origanum vulgare)

Distribution of Wild Marjoram (Origanum vulgare). Image from 2020 BSBI Plant Atlas.

Stace also lists Pot Marjoram (Origanum majorana) as a rare casual growing in the British Isles (note 3).

Medicinal uses

The Plants for a Future website lists a number of medicinal uses for Origanum vulgare. These include aiding digestion, promoting menstruation, treating respiratory conditions and as an antiseptic (note 4). It is strongly sedative and should not be taken in large doses or be taken medicinally by pregnant women (except in small amounts as a herb in cooking).

Wild Marjoram for Wildlife

Wild Marjoram is a great source of nectar for insects, including the Gatekeepers I mentioned above.

It is a foodplant of the day-flying Mint Moth, Pyrausta aurata, which flutters around the plants in the sunshine.

We visited Ranscombe Farm in Kent in June and found Wild Marjoram with galls caused by the mite Aceria labiatiflorae. The flowers and leaves had become matted with a felt of white hairs.

Gall caused by the mite Aceria labiatiflorae, on Wild Marjoram.

Gall caused by the mite Aceria labiatiflorae, on Wild Marjoram.

I saw my first Small Copper butterfly (Lycaena phlaeas) on Wild Marjoram in our garden in Scotland and we’ve seen one in our garden this summer.

Small Copper on Wild Marjoram

Small Copper butterfly on Wild Marjoram

Notes

Note 1 – The Gatekeeper butterfly is found in the southern half of Great Britain and in the extreme south of Ireland, though recent years have seen a few sightings in Scotland. They are common here in Norfolk and during July and early August I usually see several of  them every time I visit the allotment or go out into the garden. The adult butterflies are fond of flowers, especially Wild Marjoram. The larvae feed on grasses, mainly bents (Agrostis spp.), fescues (Festuca spp.) and meadow-grasses (Poa spp.).

When I grew up in Scotland Gatekeepers were an exotic southern butterfly (as were Brimstones, Commas and Holly Blues). I still remember seeing my first Gatekeeper, in August 1982 on Anglesey, on a visit to see my grandmother.

Origanum vulgare has a long, deep root run and very numerous, long root hairs, which allow it to tolerate prolonged periods of drought, though it’s best to water newly established or transplanted plants.

Note 2 – According to Deni Bown in the “Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses”. (Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995.), commercially available dried oregano can also come from other plants, including Mexican Oregano (Lippia graveolens), Lippia palmeri and Za’atar (Origanum syriacum).

But in 2015 it was revealed that one in four (19 out of 78) commercial samples of dried oregano contained added ingredients, most commonly myrtle and olive leaves.

Note 3 – Clive Stace, “New Flora of the British Isles“, Fourth Edition (2019).

Note 4 – Over 60 different compounds have been identified from Origanum vulgare, primarily carvacrol and thymol. Both carvacrol and thymol have antiseptic properties.

Goldilocks Buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus

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Buttercups are one of the delights of spring, yet I haven’t written about them in the fourteen years I’ve been writing this blog.

It’s time to make amends, so this month’s blog post is about Goldilocks Buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus.

Goldilocks buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus

Goldilocks buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus. (There are a couple of Lesser Celandine flowers too.) Late April 2025.

Where to find Goldilocks

Ranunculus auricomus,is a perennial herb. It is a calcicole, a plant that thrives in lime rich soil (chalk, limestone and other basic, often clay soils). It avoids very acid and very dry sites. While usually known as Goldilocks Buttercup, one of its other English names is Wood Buttercup and it can often be found growing in woodlands.

Goldilocks Buttercup also grows on road verges, in churchyards and amongst scrub. It sometimes grows in old meadows too, and in more upland habitat provided there is some shelter such as on ledges or amongst boulders.

I don’t see Goldilocks Buttercup very often. In previous years I’ve found it in woods and churchyards but this spring my sightings were all from road verges here in Norfolk, often in large patches, while out on a bike ride.

There are records of Ranunculus auricomus from many parts of the British Isles:

Distribution of Goldilocks Buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus

Distribution of Goldilocks Buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus. Image from 2020 BSBI Plant Atlas.

Further afield, Ranunculus auricomus is native to northern Europe and western Asia, approximately from latitudes 43 to 71 degrees and from western Ireland to the Ural Mountains. In Iceland it is quite rare and has a coastal distribution. It is also found in Alaska and the Western United States.

In the British Isles Goldilocks Buttercup appears to be both a weak competitor and intolerant of grazing or cutting.

In much of Scandinavia, Ranunculus auricomus has a wider habitat range than in the British Isles. It is not dependant on basic soils and can be found in meadows and grazed pastures, even on screes and in snow beds in mountainous country. It even grows as a weed in cultivated and disturbed ground.

Goldilocks Spotting

Goldilocks Buttercup is often the first buttercup to flower. Flowering starts in early April and is usually at its peak by early May and finished by June (note 2). The rootstock of Ranunculus auricomus overwinters with a bud at or just beneath the soil surface, ready to grow very early in the spring, with a head start on other buttercups.

Once you know what to look for, Ranunculus auricomus is very distinctive. Its flowers are a typical, shiny golden yellow but the flowers often look a bit tatty, with one or more missing or deformed petals.

Goldilocks buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus

Goldilocks buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus, on a Norfolk road verge. Early May 2023.

Closer up:

Goldilocks buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus

Goldilocks buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus. The flowers often have one or more missing or deformed petals.

Leaves at the the base of the plant the leaves are palmately and deeply lobed and slightly resemble those of Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus acris). Higher up, whorls of leaves clasp the flowering stems. The plant grows up to 40cm (16 inches) tall.

There are good photographs on the Wild Flower Finder, Pete’s Walks, Wildflowers of Ireland and Nature Spot websites. Mike Crewe’s Flora of East Anglia website has excellent photographs that compare different species of Ranunculus.

Here is the fruit, similar to many other buttercups, a cluster of smooth achenes with short hairs and curved or hooked beaks:

Goldilocks buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus

Fruit of Goldilocks Buttercup, Ranunculus auricomus.

Ranunculaceae and ranunculin

Ranunculus auricomus is a member of the Ranunculaceae (Buttercup or Crowfoot family), as are our other species of buttercup (Ranunculus). Stace’s Flora lists 30 species of Ranunculus in the British Isles and another dozen hybrids (note 1) and there are around 600 species of Ranunculus worldwide.

Previously, I’ve written about several other members of the Ranunculaceae on this blog, including Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa), Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) and Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna).

Many members of the Ranunculaceae contain the compound ranunculin, which is broken down enzymically when plant tissue is damaged into protoanemonin, which has an acrid taste and can cause a range of unpleasant symptoms including blistering of the skin and, when eaten in quantity, nausea, vomiting, liver damage and paralysis. Cooking or drying plants as straw breaks down the protoanemonin and makes it harmless.

Goldilocks Buttercup is a bit of an oddity. It lacks the acrid taste of other buttercups, suggesting it contains little or no ranunculin. This makes it more vulnerable to browsing than other buttercups.

Not a single species

Ranunculus auricomus is actually a collection of microspecies (also known as agamospecies), much like Dandelions (Taraxacum sp.) and Brambles (Rubus fruitcosus s.l.). The plants can reproduce sexually but they also reproduce by apomixis, where  pollination must take place for seed to form but there is no actual fertilisation. This results in offspring that are clones of the mother plant.

For convenience, we lump the plants together as Ranunculus auricomus but several hundred microspecies of Ranunculus auricomus have been described from the Continent and the 200 or so microspecies found in the British Isles are probably different from these (note 1). These differences presumably explain different habitat requirements.

Much work needs to be done to distinguish microspecies and their preferences. Individual colonies with particular characteristics could be lost due to climate change or destruction of habitat without us knowing.

What’s in a name?

Goldilocks Buttercup’s specific name, auricomus, means “golden hair” (from a compound of aurum meaning gold and coma meaning hair of the head). “Goldilocks” has been used to describe a person with bright yellow or golden hair since the mid-15th century and has been used as a name for buttercups since the 1570s.

There doesn’t seem to be any direct link between the plant and the well known children’s fairy tale, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. The fairy tale is an old one, first published in written form by Robert Southey in 1837. Earlier versions of the story feature the bears but the intruder who eats their porridge is an old woman. Goldilocks makes her first appearance in twelve years later, when writer Joseph Cundall changed the old woman into a little girl in his book Treasury of Pleasure Books for Young Children.

In Latin, rana is a frog and Ranunculus means “little frog”, perhaps because many buttercups prefer wetter habitats. (So I suppose the Ranunculaceae is the family of little frogs.)

All in all it’s a good excuse to include a photograph of one of our garden residents:

Common Frog, Rana temporaria

A little frog. (Common Frog, Rana temporaria.) Photograph by Vanna Bartlett.

Notes

Note 1 – The Fourth Edition of Clive Stace’s “New Flora of the British Isles“ (2019).

Note 2 – It’s all weather dependant but the sequence tends to start with Goldilocks Buttercup, followed by Bulbous (R. bulbosus), then Meadow (R. acris) and finally Creeping Buttercup (R. repens).

Tree Lupin, Lupinus arboreus

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A Tree Lupin in the garden

Tree Lupin, Lupinus arboreus

Tree Lupin, Lupinus arboreus.

Our Tree Lupin, Lupinus arboreus, is in flower in the back garden. Its pale yellow flowers are a contrast to other flowers at the moment, such as the pink and white of Sweet Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) and the red-flowered climbing Rose ‘Allen Chandler’. There is a blue shed behind the Tree Lupin, giving more contrast, and a Golden Hop (Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’) trailing up a support next to it, whose leaves match the colours of the lupin. The lupin’s leaves are silky, grey-green and palmately-lobed, contrasting in form, as well as staying green throughout the winter.

Tree Lupin, Lupinus arboreus

Tree Lupin, Lupinus arboreus, with Golden Hop (Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’)

Our Tree Lupin really belongs in the garden and it’s easy to forget that I only planted it three years ago. I bought it as a potted plant from Hethersett Plant Fair (note 1) at the beginning of May 2022 and planted it a couple of days later.

The Tree Lupin isn’t a tree, and never will be. It’s a short-lived shrub, lasting up to seven years. Our plant is now 1.5 metres (five feet) tall and about 1.2 metres (four feet across). The RHS website says that plants can grow to 1.5 – 2.5 metres tall with a similar spread. Wikipedia gives a maximum height of 2 metres (7 feet) tall in sheltered positions, but more typically 1 – 1.5 metres (3 – 5 feet) tall. I prune our plant whenever it grows across a path and it doesn’t seem to mind.

Our garden soil is very well-drained sandy loam and this is just what Tree Lupins prefer (note 2).

Tree Lupins in the wild

The Tree Lupin is a native of North America, particularly parts of California. It has been introduced into other parts of the world, including other parts of North America (British Columbia, Oregon and Washington), South America (Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands), Australia (Tasmania and Victoria) and New Zealand (North and South Islands). In Europe it now grows in Great Britain and Ireland.

Lupinus arboreus is a neophyte and was introduced into the British Isles in 1793, when it was treated as a tender plant requiring greenhouse protection. It was first recorded in the wild in 1926 at Freshfield in South Lancashire. It is now well established, with a largely coastal distribution. But there are inland records too: Tree Lupins grow happily on well-drained soils and are given hardiness rating “H4” by the Royal Horticultural Society (“hardy through most of the UK (-10C to -5C)”).

Tree Lupins grow well in sand dunes (where they are widely planted) and on Cornish china-clay tips, as well as on roadsides, railway banks and on waste ground.

Distribution of Tree Lupin, Lupinus arboreus. Image from BSBI Plant Atlas.

Distribution of Tree Lupin, Lupinus arboreus. Image from 2020 BSBI Plant Atlas.

Tree Lupin flowers smell faintly of honey.

The Wild Flower Finder website has photographs of Tree Lupin flowers at different stages of development. Like our plant, the flowers are yellow but the First Nature website has a photograph of a flower with a tinge of mauve. Mike Crew’s Flora of East Anglia website has pictures of white and blue flowers as well as the more usual yellow. Flowering is usually from June until August but it is a bit earlier this year after the sunny and very dry spring.

Although each Tree Lupin plant is short-lived, the plants persist by seeding around. They produce large amounts of long-lived seeds in stiff, hairy pods.

Tree Lupin are members of the Pea family, the Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae). They have a similar  shrubby, short-lived growth habit to our native Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus) and Common Broom (Cytisus scoparius).

Members of the Fabaceae have nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules (in Tree Lupin, from the genus Bradyrhizobium) . These capture nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into ammonia (NH3) or ammonium ions (NH4+), which the plant can use to grow. This is especially useful in poor soils.

Other Lupins

There are over 199 species of Lupinus worldwide. Most are from North and South America, with some from North Africa and the Mediterranean region.

Mike Crew’s Flora of East Anglia website gives details of two other species of lupin found in our region of Britain:

Narrow-leaved Lupin, Lupinus angustifolius

The Narrow-leaved Lupin, Lupinus angustifolius, is an annual species with very narrow leaflets and blue flowers. It comes from southern Europe and has sometimes been used as a fodder crop. Like other lupins the seeds contain bitter-tasting toxic alkaloids but there is some natural variation and plant breeders have produced low-alkaloid, edible forms (note 3).

Russell Lupins, Lupinus x regalis

Most of us are familiar with Russell Lupins, Lupinus x regalis, which are the common garden Lupin, available in many colours. They are hybrids between the Tree Lupin and the Large-leaved Lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus. They are herbaceous perennials and have inherited this growth habit from the Large-flowered Lupin and a branching habit from the Tree Lupin.

Russell Lupins are often referred to as “”Russell Hybrids”. They grow to 1.5m (five feet) in height and have flowers in many shades of yellow, pink, red, blue, purple or white. Bicoloured flowers are common. Although both parents are from North America, Russell Hybrids were developed on two allotments in York by the horticulturalist George Russell in the first half of the 20th century (note 4).

Pink Russell Lupins, Lupinus x regalis

Pink Russell Lupins, Lupinus x regalis, at Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, 21st May 2025.

We don’t grow Russell Lupins in our current garden, though they would probably do well. Our previous garden in Norwich was full of Garden Snails (Cornu aspersum). These took a particular delight in eating Lupin leaves, tearing them apart with relish and small plants disappeared overnight. Snails weren’t a problem when I lived near Aberdeen and we had many fine Russell Lupins in the garden.

Russell Lupins in a Scottish garden.

Russell Lupins in a garden near Nethybridge in Scotland, June 2024.

Tree Lupins and wildlife

Lupin flowers are popular with bumblebees and in the last few days worker Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) have been visiting the flowers, starting at the bottom of a flower spike and working their way up towards the top.

Bombus terrestris worker on Tree Lupin

Bombus terrestris worker visiting Tree Lupin flowers.

On a sunny day the mirid bug Closterotomus trivialis uses our Tree Lupin leaves as a place to sunbathe and, presumably feed. (The bug, a recent arrival from the Mediterranean, is polyphagous, that is, it feeds on a wide range of plants.)

Closterotomus trivialis

Mirid bug Closterotomus trivialis on a Tree Lupin leaf.

Perhaps less welcome is the Lupin Aphid, Macrosiphum albifrons, which can be found on various species of lupins, including Tree Lupin and Russell Lupins.

Lupin Aphids.

Lupin Aphids. Photograph by Vanna Bartlett.

We haven’t found any (yet) this year but in previous years we have had high numbers on our Tree Lupin. We let nature take its course, glad of another species of insect in the garden, but the aphids can sometimes cause serious damage and plants that have been badly debilitated by the aphids can die. The excellent Influential Points website has more details and photographs.

Happy memories!

I have several happy memories of lupins.

Firstly, growing Russell Lupins with my Mum’s help when I was four or five years old. We forgot to water the seedlings but they survived and were the first plants I grew in what started off as a sandpit for me to play in and ended up as my very first garden.

Russell Lupins also remind me of our garden near Aberdeen when we moved to Scotland. I find the smell of Russell Lupin flowers a little peppery and we once made the mistake of picking some of the flowers for a vase. They were soon banished outside; never again.

My first definite memories of Tree Lupins is from the Suffolk coast near the Minsmere RSPB reserve, seen when walking and birdwatching in the area.

More recently, I think of Tree Lupins on the banks of the railway cutting at Felmingham in North Norfolk, where Small-flowered Catchfly grows. The soil is very sandy, which provides good winter drainage, and disturbed, which allows both the catchfly (an annual) and the Tree Lupin to spread by seed.

Finally, earlier this month I went to see the fabulous Oysterband perform at Folk On The Pier in Cromer, on the North Norfolk coast. We walked along the cliff tops from Overstrand to Cromer and, as we started to descend into Cromer there were some Tree Lupins in flower here too. It was a great day out: sunshine, the coconut smell of Common Gorse, good company, tea and cake, fish and chips, a superb concert …and lupins. Perfection!

Tree Lupin in our garden

Tree Lupin in our garden, earlier today.

Notes

Note 1 – Hethersett Plant Fairs are organised by Norfolk Plant Heritage and there are two a year. The fairs are held at Hethersett Village Hall (a few miles west of Norwich) in early May and late August.

Note 2 – The Gardeners World website recommends growing Tree Lupins in full sun, in rich soil (“Acidic / Chalky / Alkaline / Clay / Heavy / Moist / Well Drained / Light / Sandy”). In our north-facing garden our Tree Lupin is in sun for much of the day in summer, but doesn’t receive much direct sunshine in winter.

Note 3 – Several years ago I grew two varieties of Narrow-leaved Lupin, on the allotment, while taking part in a Garden Organic members’ experiment to test the palatability of lupins bred for human consumption.

It was a very dry summer but in spite of this the plants cropped well. But the seeds were very hard and dry and I had to boil freshly collected seeds for an hour or more to soften them. I then discovered that the taste was still too bitter for my liking. I didn’t try them a second time.

I let a few of the plants self-seed and they were very attractive but they eventually died out.

Note 4 – You can read more about George Russell and his lupins online: “The man who made lupins his life” (Yorkshire Post 2004) and “The Lupin Man of York – George Russell” (God’s Own County blog).

At their peak there were 152 named varieties but in the years after Russell’s death many were lost to Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) or allowed to self-sow, reverting to their original colours.