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Dittany of Crete

I agree with Bob that Dittany of Crete is unlikely to have succulent
(fleshy) leaves. I've seen it many times in the wild in Crete, and in
cultivation, and it's always had "normal" non-fleshy foliage, usually very
densely covered with whitish hairs. There is a number of related species
in the Aegean region and other eastern Mediterranean countries, e.g.
Origanum rotundifolium and O. amanum, both from Turkey, I think, but I'm
unaware of anything fleshy among those either.

Maybe William's plant is a species of Coleus, also in the mint family. 
Some of the wild species from Arabia and nearby Africa have notched, 
fleshy leaves with fuzzy hairs and strongly aromatic oil glands. I had a 
Coleus species in cultivation the U.K., which smelled strongly of pine 
disinfectant, and another one which was more camphor-like. These plants 
have a glutinous-sticky feel to them too. The flowers are pretty 
insignificant, sort of bluish and small and rarely produced, but the scent 
is unusual.

Nick.

----------------------------

Nick Turland
Flora of China Project, Missouri Botanical Garden, 
P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, U.S.A.
Email: nturland@lehmann.mobot.org
Tel.: (314) 577-0269  Fax: (314) 577-9438
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