It could be Greek oregano.

Looks like marjoram.

looks like my oregano

If you crush a leaf, what does it smell like?

The herb has a fairly mild scent as opposed to sharp, and I would place it closest to basil. I have used it in scrambled eggs and in yogurt, and it really is lovely, has an almost perfume aroma.

I bet orchidrain is right and it's marjoram. From google: While the oval, flat green leaves of these mint-family herbs are often confused for one another, each one has a distinct smell and flavor that sets it apart. Oregano tends to be pungent and spicy, while more mild marjoram is floral and woodsy.

marjoram is a type of oregano. Tends to be more tender. Can be used interchangeably with oregano but tends to have smaller leaves.

I agree, oregano or marjoram. Marjoram has a sweeter smell, oregano smells kind of like pencil shavings. Can you send a pic to the friend and ask her?

Some herbs are easy to root in water, so they just might root for you if you leave them in the glass.

Be careful if you plant it, it's like mint where it will completely take over your garden. If you want to grow it I would suggest a container. Ask me how I know, doh

I planted some oregano & found it to be very invasive. I've not grown marjoram but, from what I have read, it, too, is invasive. So be very careful where you plant it. Only a minute or two to plant it and hours digging it out after only 2 seasons.

Kadefol - yes, I decided that the easiest route is to send my friend a photo and ask her to identify the plant, which I've already done.

Only a minute or two to plant it and hours digging it out after only 2 seasons. LOL! That exactly was my experience when I planted Bishop's Gout Weed!

In the spring, I will plant this herb in a raised bed along with other herbs. I hope it does root if I keep it in water and I will have it indoors all winter. Hopefully with our cold winters it won't be invasive when I get it planted outdoors.

True Marjoram, Origanum majorana, is cold sensitive. I’d be surprised if it survives the winter in Wisconsin. Are you sure that’s what you have and not Origano, Origanum vulgare?

Oh yes, goutweed is evil stuff.

I have oregano planted in NE Ohio, got down to negative 16 degrees and it came back. It does spread but I don't have any trouble just pulling it up from where it comes up. I love it for the bees that flock to it, I don't eat it myself...HA!

Some oreganos are cold sensitive others are not. This area has a grower who sells various kinds but if you go to the greenhouse he will tell you there are some that die under 40F.

Floral - posters here have given me lots of great ideas on what this herb might be, but for certain identification, I have emailed the friend who gave it to me. Whatever it is, whether oregano or marjoram, it is very nice and I would enjoy having access to it all summer. It will likely be summers only, since I'm in Canada and plants have to be pretty hardy to survive our winters.

We seem to be at cross purposes due to the use of common names. I’m not questioning the hardiness of Oregano, Oreganum vulgare. I have tons of the stuff in various forms and colours growing happily and self seeding. Its robustness isn’t in question. It’s Marjorum, Oreganum marjorana, which is tender. I was questioning that it’s overwintering for sleeperblues whose handle implies they’re in Wisconsin. On the other hand O vulgare should be hardy to USA z4.

I have a raised bed that has been home to a number of herbs over the past twenty years. It originally had a couple varieties of thyme rampaging across one corner and most of the way into the middle and tricolor sage in another corner, and then we'd plant annual/tender perennials (i.e. tarragon, basil, rosemary) that would be replaced yearly. Greek oregano and lavender were added a bit later. The sage would often have die back that is prune off, so it suffices today that the bed was not in a warm pocket and more likely a colder microclimate. The thymes lasted for a while, but they didn't make it through one of the winters several years ago; sage may have already been Pruned out or that might have been its death sentence, too ... I think the lavender hung on but had a lot of die back. The Greek oregano is still thriving out there ... and it actually has escaped into the path on the fence side (I noticed it when it brushed into my leg while I was picking berries). It's spread within the bed some (though not as rabidly as the thyme used to and certainly less than mint we have elsewhere - thyme I used a yank-pruning technique; the mint has pounded in edging to contain it plus shovel-pruning what hops that) and the path plants appear to be from seeding, but I'm leaving it there, flowers and all. It's certainly preferable to many other weeds and it's useful and not that hard to pull (unlike creeping bell flower - the bane of our garden).

I've had decent luck with wintering several herbs in the basement to keep them throughout the year, thyme, oregano, and sage have all done pretty well; they do get sunlight from a window down there and remain usable (not dormant) ... watering takes some practice to get right.

If you let us know what area of Canada, we can give you a prediction of how your plant will survive should you get some to plant.

The marjoram I have is a lighter gray-green and the leaves are thinner. That looks very much like Greek oregano to me, which I also have.

I grow mine in large pots. My marjoram is many years old now and looks like a bonsai tree.

Marjoram definitely has a more perfume-y scent than Greek oregano, but I love both and use them a lot.

Looks like oregano, I agree.

Looks like oregano or marjoram, yes. My oregano took a few tries to get established, but once it did, it does get bigger and bigger, as perennials do, but I haven't found it to be an aggressive spreader. I don't find it sending out runners like mint does. When it gets too big I dig out half of it and trim it all down close to the ground. It certainly produces more dried oregano than we can eat. Yum!

i was going to recommend.. that next time you ask.. before you start tasting things..

but if your friend is the guinea pig.. and gives you the plants.. well .. you ought to be all set.. lol ...

just keep it in mind.. if someone else doesnt really know their stuff ... to figure it out first ...

ken

Ken, my friend knows what it is because it was part of her herb garden. In the flurry of the numerous herbs that she gave to me, I didn't take the time to identify each one. I have emailed her for info but haven't heard back yet.

I spoke to my friend today and she said that the herb is oregano. She plans to keep basil all winter under a grow light, which gave me the idea to do the same with some herbs, especially a couple of my favorites like basil and oregano, and possibly parsley and tarragon. A new hobby to investigate!

I don’t know where you live but Oregano is a hardy evergreen for me. It can be used fresh all year round, although it dries beautifully and has a good flavour.

I have one oregano plant that goes dormant but another one turns burgundy colored on the top but the foliage under the burgundy stays green. I have used the leaves during the winter but require more of the leaves although crushing the stems when fixing something that needs simmering for a long time enhances the flavor.

I grow basil outside in the winter (as well as many other herbs), but the flavor is not quite a good as basil grown in the summer. If I buy a plant in October and put it outdoors in full sun, it will grow for several months, into January, but it grows more slowly than in the summer. Grow lights might work better. I grow my favorite herbs in large pots outdoors on plant stands so that I won't have to stoop to pick them. Chives grow particularly well all year, as does oregano and thyme.

While I like the convenience of having fresh basil whenever, I find it more practical to just buy it at Trader Joe's when I want it. If I want to save it, I make pesto and freeze that.

I live in a frost-free zone in Los Angeles, and I have not had a problem with herbs taking over my yard when I plant them in the ground, and this includes mint and oregano. The one that grows the most and requires the most pruning is rosemary, and I planted that as a mosquito repellent, although I'm not sure whether it is effective or not.