Rosemary

Native to the Mediterranean, rosemary is a perennial herb with small bladelike leaves and a woody stem. This aromatic herb has had a presence in lore, in medicine, and in the kitchen since at least 500 BC. When Shakespeare wrote the line from Hamlet in 1602 “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance,” he was drawing on the herb’s potency as both a symbol of love but also as an agent for improving memory. Proving that the health benefits of rosemary have survived into the present, in Provence rosemary tisane is still taken as a digestive after a heavy meal.