Species
+

Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.

Rosemary

Climate known 36 photographs Temperate garden plant
Add one to my plants Sow seed

Every figure on this page is derived from public data by a stated rule and says its source; nothing here is written by a person or a model, except the Wikipedia passage, which is quoted and marked as such. How it is made.

Summary

Salvia rosmarinus, synonym Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly 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 mint family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean region. It has numerous cultivars, and its leaves are commonly used as a flavoring.

Text from Wikipedia, “Rosemary”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written. Kept separate from everything derived here.

About the genus · Salvia

Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with just under 1,000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, Salvia is part of the tribe Mentheae within the subfamily Nepetoideae. One of several genera commonly referred to as sage, it includes two widely used herbs, Salvia officinalis and Salvia rosmarinus.

Text from Wikipedia, “Salvia”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written.

Family
Lamiaceae
Described by
Spenn.
Native to
Baleares, Corse, France +16
Wild records
749 in range· 94 open

At a glance

Warmest month
28°C
Jul, mean day; nights 18 °C (CHELSA)
Rain
662mm/yr
11 wet months · peak Oct 86 mm (CHELSA)
Light
12–47DLI
mol/m²/day, winter to summer, open sky (CHELSA shortwave)
In short condensed by rule from the cultivation cards · not written by a person
Grouped as a temperate garden plant by the genus Salvia, which is reliably one kind of plant (archetype table). Rain rule: a winter growing season, September to February and April in the northern hemisphere (September to February and April at the habitat, northern). Habitat rain 662 mm a year, wettest October at 86 mm, driest July at 12 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere). Open sky over the habitat: 12 to 47 mol/m²/day. Cold floor -0.5 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).
Each sentence is one card's own one-line form, written by the same rule as the card (Its year, Rain, Light, Temperature); the note cannot say what a card does not. Months are given for the northern hemisphere (set your site in Settings to change this), and the habitat's own alongside. The cards · the figures.

Also known as Rosmarinus angustifolius Mill.; Rosmarinus aunieri Gand., 1875; Rosmarinus communis Bubani, 1897; Rosmarinus communis Noronha; Rosmarinus cyanocalyx Gand., 1875 and 40 more.

Cultivation

Grouped as a temperate garden plant by the genus Salvia, which is reliably one kind of plant (archetype table). The table holds no figure for this group, which spans too much for one minimum; the cold floor is the habitat's alone, and no prose comes from the table.

Its year Rain rule: a winter growing season, September to February and April in the northern hemisphere (September to February and April at the habitat, northern).

This species’ habitat figures, and what two fixed rules read from them.

The rain rule reads a winter growing season: 70% of the year's rain (496 mm of 662 mm) falls in September to February and April, cooler than the year (wet-season mean 12.6 °C against a yearly mean of 15.4 °C). Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere; shifted six months for a southern-hemisphere collection: March to August and October.

Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the envelope cells: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve gives a season to reverse. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain Habitat rain 662 mm a year, wettest October at 86 mm, driest July at 12 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

662 mm a year at the habitat, 496 mm of it September to February and April. Wettest month October at 86 mm, driest July at 12 mm. Across the envelope cells the year's total runs 472 mm to 949 mm (10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year) (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the envelope cells. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light Open sky over the habitat: 12 to 47 mol/m²/day.

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Open sky over the habitat: 12 to 47 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 10, the highest 90th-percentile month 51).

CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Warmth and air Cold floor -0.5 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell is -0.5 °C, the absolute minimum -7.5 °C, about 5 frost nights a year (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 34.5 °C. Monthly means: coldest night 4.3 °C in January (across the envelope cells 0.3 °C to 9.5 °C), warmest day 28.0 °C in July (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). Cold floor: -0.5 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell (NASA POWER).

NASA POWER daily minima and maxima 1981–2024 at the typical cell, lapse-corrected to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA. The cold floor is the figure named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 55 to 61% across the year (monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the envelope cells.

The figures the cards read from are in Climate below, and where they came from in Natural habitat.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat climate through the yearMean day from 11 °C in Jan to 28 °C in Jul; mean night from 4 °C in Jan to 18 °C in Aug. The cold quarter, Dec to Feb, is the three months around the coldest night. 662 mm of rain a year, most in Oct. The bands show the 10th to 90th percentile across 536 habitat cells. Over 44 years at the typical cell the absolute minimum was -7.5 °C and the 99th-percentile day 34.5 °C; neither is dated to a month. Beneath: daily light integral and relative humidity through the year, each on its own scale.-10°10°20°30°40°frost34.5° 99th-percentile day (undated)-7.5° lowest night in 44 yrs (undated)°C · day and nightcold quarter0255075100125150mm rainDLI 12–47RH 55–61 %JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain 10th–90th percentile across 536 habitat cells cold quarter: the three months around the coldest night extremes over 44 years at the typical cell, marked at the edge: undated DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C11 / 8–1512 / 10–1615 / 13–1817 / 15–2021 / 18–2325 / 22–2928 / 24–3228 / 25–3224 / 22–2820 / 18–2315 / 12–1812 / 9–16
Night °C4 / 0–105 / 1–107 / 3–119 / 5–1312 / 9–1516 / 13–1918 / 15–2118 / 16–2216 / 13–2013 / 9–178 / 4–136 / 1–11
Rain mm66 / 37–9454 / 34–8247 / 32–6962 / 45–8953 / 30–7729 / 9–5312 / 2–3325 / 4–5559 / 27–9886 / 56–12285 / 54–12584 / 44–140
DLI14 / 11–1720 / 17–2329 / 26–3236 / 33–4042 / 39–4547 / 42–5047 / 43–5141 / 37–4532 / 29–3622 / 19–2615 / 12–1812 / 10–15
RH %61 / 58–6359 / 57–6258 / 55–6158 / 54–6157 / 53–6256 / 50–6155 / 48–6156 / 50–6258 / 53–6361 / 57–6361 / 58–6361 / 58–64

Each figure is the median across the 536 grid cells holding the 728 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. Extremes and elevation were read at the typical cell 927:3677 (43.625, 3.875). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum -7.5 °C, 1st-percentile night -0.5 °C, 99th-percentile day 34.5 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Envelope: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 536 distinct grid cells holding the 728 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 927:3677 (its coldest month's mean night nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 43.50_3.750, lapse-corrected -42 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 44 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across every in-range record's cell, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeBaleares, Corse, France, Portugal, Sardegna, Spain, Albania, Greece, Italy, Sicilia, Yugoslavia, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Turkey· introduced: Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Bulgaria, Kriti, Krym, Azores, Canary Is., Cape Verde, Madeira, Lebanon-Syria, Texas, Mexico Central, Mexico Southwest, Bermuda, Trinidad-Tobago
Kew's description“shrub” · “temperate”· quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Map marker41.537, 1.666 · in the densest population, 449 records (60% of those in range)
Evidence usedThe map marker and the climate envelope rest on all 749 georeferenced records inside the native range; the map shows only the 94 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 296 km away. 64 records outside the range (gardens, roadsides, misidentifications) ignored. 21 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km and stay on the map but off the climate.
The map markerthe map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population inside the densest 4° block of the 749 in-range records; it decides nothing.

Photographs

Salvia rosmarinusSalvia rosmarinusSalvia rosmarinusSalvia rosmarinusSalvia rosmarinusSalvia rosmarinusSalvia rosmarinusSalvia rosmarinus

Photographs: no rights reserved · CC0 (2); (c) zebedeugalinha, some rights reserved (CC BY) (5); (c) Ryan McMinds, some rights reserved (CC BY).

Photographs: iNaturalist and GBIF media did not answer when this page was built; what is shown came from the sources that did.

Papers naming this species

Works whose title or abstract names Salvia rosmarinus, most cited first, from OpenAlex (CC0). A mention, not a cultivation source: nothing on this page is drawn from them.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L., syn Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.) and Its Topical Applications: A Review
Lucas Malvezzi de Macedo, Érica Mendes dos Santos, Lucas Militão, Louise Lacalendola Tundisi (2020) · Plants
Medicinal Plants and Their Impact on the Gut Microbiome in Mental Health: A Systematic Review
Eva‐Maria Pferschy‐Wenzig, Manuela-Raluca Pausan, Karin Ardjomand-Woelkart, Stefanie Röck (2022) · Nutrients
Toxicity, Deterrent and Repellent Activities of Four Essential Oils on Aphis punicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)
Samy Sayed, Mohamed Mohamed Soliman, Saad H. Alotaibi, Mohamed M. Hassan (2022) · Plants
Plant-derived bioactive compounds as key players in the modulation of immune-related conditions
Sara F. Vieira, Rui L. Reis, Helena Ferreira, Nuno M. Neves (2024) · Phytochemistry Reviews
Neuroprotective Potential of Aromatic Herbs: Rosemary, Sage, and Lavender
Arezoo Faridzadeh, Yasaman Salimi, Hamidreza Ghasemirad, Meraj Kargar (2022) · Frontiers in Neuroscience
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus): Health-Promoting Benefits and Food Preservative Properties
Jacob P. Veenstra, Jeremy J. Johnson (2021) · International Journal Of Nutrition
Study of the optical properties of TiO2 semiconductor nanoparticles synthesized using Salvia rosmarinus and its effect on photocatalytic activity
Estefania Silva-Osuna, Alfredo R. Vilchis-Néstor, Rubén César Villarreal Sánchez, Andrés Castro-Beltrán (2022) · Optical Materials
Green nanotechnology synthesized silver nanoparticles: Characterization and testing its antibacterial activity
Najla AlMasoud, Hajar Alhaik, Malak Almutairi, Asmaa Houjak (2021) · Green Processing and Synthesis
Chemical Profile, Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Anti-Cancer Effects of Italian Salvia rosmarinus Spenn. Methanol Leaves Extracts
Matteo Brindisi, Chouaha Bouzidi, Luca Frattaruolo, Monica Rosa Loizzo (2020) · Antioxidants
The chromosome‐scale assembly of the Salvia rosmarinus genome provides insight into carnosic acid biosynthesis
Danlu Han, Wenliang Li, Zhuangwei Hou, Chufang Lin (2022) · The Plant Journal
Invasion risk assessment using trait-environment and species distribution modelling techniques in an arid protected area: Towards conservation prioritization
Reham F. El‐Barougy, Mohammed A. Dakhil, Marwa Waseem A. Halmy, Sarah M. Gray (2021) · Ecological Indicators

Similar habitat climate the 6 species whose habitat climate is nearest this one's: mean day and night, month by month, and rain on a log scale, in calendar order, so a habitat with the same seasons six months out is far, not near. Nothing else counts: not range, not family.

Other Salvia 27 in the reference

History & registers

Where this page came from built 2026-09-20 · dossier v2 · node
gbif.species answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.synonyms answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.vernacular answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
wcvp.distribution answered
gbif.occurrences answeredGBIF occurrence search API
climate answered
wikidata answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
wikipedia answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped
inat.taxon not askedcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive)
inat.photos.wild answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped
inat.photos.cultivated nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
commons nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
gbif.media did not answercarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: api.gbif.org not asked: offline re-derivation
openalex answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped

Every upstream is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, or refused. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 6 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.