Oregano and Marjoram:
An Herb Society of America Guide to the Genus Origanum
Contributors & Acknowledgements
Text by Michele Meyers, HSA Director of Education, except where
otherwise noted
© 2005 The Herb Society of America
Horticultural advisor: Robin Siktberg, HSA Editor/Horticulturist
Contributors
The Herb Society of America would like to thank the following
contributors, without whose expertise and input this guide would
not have been possible:
James Adams
Jim Adams has been gardening and growing herbs since childhood. He
earned his horticulture degree from Michigan State University. He
completed numerous internships at some of the country's premier
horticultural institutions before becoming the Assistant Curator
of the Fern Valley Native Plant Collection at the U.S. National
Arboretum. In 1997, he changed posts and became Curator of the
National Herb Garden, also at the arboretum. Jim is a member of
the Potomac Unit of The Herb Society of America, HSA's Promising
Plants committee as well as various other horticulture-related
organizations and was awarded HSA's Nancy Putnam Howard Award for
Horticulture in 2004. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Gwen Barclay
Gwen is Director of Food Services at The International
Festival-Institute at Round Top, Texas. A member of both the
Pioneer Unit and the South Texas Unit of HSA, she is a nationally
recognized expert on herbs and herbal cuisine. Gwen and her mother,
Madalene Hill, are co-authors of Southern Herb Growing.
Susan Belsinger
Susan Belsinger is a culinary educator, food writer and photographer
whose articles have been published in Woman's Day, Organic
Gardening, Victoria Magazine and The Herb Companion.
She is the author of Flowers in the Kitchen, co-author, with
Carolyn Dille, of The Garlic Book, Herbs in the
Kitchen, and The Greens Book, and co-author of
Basil: An Herb Lover's Guide with Thomas DeBaggio. Susan
is a member of the Potomac Unit of The Herb Society of America.
Francesco DeBaggio
A second-generation herb grower, Francesco DeBaggio owns and operates
DeBaggio's Herb Farm and Nursery (formerly DeBaggio Herbs) in
Chantilly, VA. Francesco is a member at large of The Herb Society of
America and maintains several HSA-registered herb collections,
including Origanum, in his gardens and greenhouses in addition
to growing 100,000 herb, vegetable, annual, and perennial plants each
spring for his devoted customers.
Joan DeLauro
Joan is HSA's Garden Consultant and is responsible for the design
and maintenance of the demonstration garden at HSA Headquarters.
She previously served as Urban Gardening Coordinator at Cleveland
Botanical Garden and currently runs her own freelance gardening
business. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and is a member at large of
The Herb Society of America.
Richard Dennis
Richard is the curator of the Northern California unit's
HSA-registered Origanum collection and has been a member The
Herb Society of America since 1985.
Henry Flowers
Henry is a native Texan with a B.S. in Horticulture and a Master of
Agriculture degree in Floriculture from Texas A&M University. He
has worked as a retail nursery manager and garden manager in Georgia
and Texas and presently works with Madalene Hill as Director of
Gardens and Grounds for The International Festival-Institute in
Round Top, Texas. Henry is a member of HSA's Pioneer Unit.
Madalene Hill
Madalene was president of The Herb Society of America from 1986-1988
and has been a member since 1957. She organized the South Texas Unit
and was a charter member of the Pioneer Unit. Madalene was awarded
HSA's Helen de Conway Little Medal of Honor in 1978. She is an
accomplished plantswoman, and her garden at The International
Festival-Institute at Round Top, Texas, attracts visitors from all
over the world.
Scott Kresge
Scott Kresge is an avid plantsman and owner of Emily Mae's Garden
Stop in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. He is a member at large of The Herb
Society of America, serves on HSA's Promising Plants Committee, and
is holder of several HSA-registered plant collections, including
Origanum.
Rae McKimm
Rae McKimm, owner of Crystal Hill Gardens located in Sims, Arkansas,
propagates and sells herbs, natives, plants for butterflies and
unusual ornamental plants. She received her B.S. degree in
Agriculture Business with an emphasis in Horticulture from Arkansas
Tech University in 1997. She is a member and current unit chair of
the Arkansas Unit of the Herb Society of America, a member of the
Arkansas Native Plant Society, secretary for the Arkansas State
Horticultural Society, past president and current board member of the
Arkansas - Oklahoma Horticulture Industries Show and a Montgomery
County (Arkansas) Master Gardener.
Carol Morse
Carol is a member of the Northern California Unit and helps maintain
the unit's HSA-registered Origanum collection.
Rexford Talbert
Rexford Talbert has been a member of The Herb Society of America for
37 years and is the recipient of the Nancy Putnam Howard Award for
Horticultural Excellence. He is the co-founder and former chairman
of the South Texas Unit and has served on the HSA Board of Directors.
Rex served on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration as Senior
Information Research Scientist and is now retired. He has written
and lectured on herbs for over 40 years and has been published in
The Herb Companion, Kitchen Gardens, The Gilded
Herb and The Herbarist, among others. His particular
interest is the botany and taxonomy of the family Lamiaceae.
Arthur O. Tucker, Ph.D.
Dr. Tucker is a research professor at Delaware State University
specializing in the chemistry and identification of herbs. He is a
member of the Rosemary Circle and the Northern New Jersey Unit of HSA
and has received HSA's Nancy Putnam Howard Award for Excellence in
Horticulture and the Helen de Conway Little Medal of Honor. Art has
a B.S. from Kutztown State College and M.S. and doctoral degrees from
Rutgers University. He is a nationally recognized expert on flavor,
fragrance and medicinal plants and has been published many times in
scholarly and popular publications. Dr. Tucker is co-author of
The Big Book of Herbs with Thomas DeBaggio.
Barbara Varland
Barbara is an HSA member at large and has maintained an
HSA-registered Origanum collection since 1999. She is a
retired English teacher, a life-long gardener and Master Gardener.
Barbara lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Tina Marie Wilcox
Tina Marie Wilcox has been the head gardener and herbalist at the
Ozark Folk Center's Heritage Herb Garden in Mountain View, Arkansas,
since 1984. She tends the extensive gardens, plans and coordinates
annual herbal events and workshops and facilitates the production of
the plants sold there. Tina Marie has collaborated with Susan
Belsinger on articles that have appeared in The Herbarist,
The Herb Companion and Herbs for Health. She is an
HSA member at large.
Acknowledgments
Additional editorial assistance provided by Robin Siktberg. Research assistance provided by HSA Librarian/Webmaster Christine Liebson and HSA Assistant Librarian Holly Ferkol.
Image Credits
Images included courtesy of Gwen Barclay, Susan Belsinger, Rex Talbert, Tina Marie Wilcox, the U.S. National Arboretum, the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and The Herb Society of America Archives (from the collection of slides of the Northern California Unit's Origanum collection). Line drawings of O. vulgare subsp. vulgare and O. rotundifolium by Robin Siktberg. Gerard's herbal image photographed from: Gerard, John, 1545-1612. The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes. Enlarged and revised by T. Johnson. London: A. Islip, J. Norton and R. Whitakers, 1633. (HSA Library rare book collection).
Cover photographs: O. 'Herrenhausen' by
Robin Siktberg, O. xmajoricum by Susan Belsinger, O.
libanoticum and O. onites from HSA Archives collection.
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