What Herb Is This?

October 4, 2017 11:59 AM

I have a friend who, like me, loves cooking and eating, and who, unlike me, has a green thumb. She told me she grew oregano and gave me some. This doesn't look like any oregano I've ever seen. Is it oregano? Is it another herb? Is it some other opportunistic plant/weed that grew in her oregano flowerpot? Thanks, plant lovers! Picture of a couple of leaves/fronds/stalks/idek
posted by zorseshoes to Home & Garden (16 answers total)

Nope not like any oregano I've grown. No idea what it is, but it looks like a seed head of some sort, but unlike anything I've ever grown. It looks more like a grass.
posted by koolkat at 12:08 PM on October 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

If it was green instead of white I'd say it sort of looks like rosemary, but whatever it is, it's definitely *not* oregano.
posted by Fish Sauce at 12:14 PM on October 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

That is certainly not oregano. I don't know what it is. If it smelled good, I would taste a bit. If it tasted good, I'd cook with it.

I don't give away food stuffs I've never tried, so you might ask your friend if she's actually ingested it.

Opportunistic weeds are rarely highly aromatic and tasty.
posted by SaltySalticid at 12:15 PM on October 4, 2017

That's neither an oregano stem nor a flower or seed-head. I suspect she planted oregano and some grass seed came up in the same spot.
posted by pipeski at 12:16 PM on October 4, 2017 [4 favorites]

Does not look like any variety of oregano I have grown, or thyme or rosemary. I do not recognize it.
posted by bessiemae at 12:17 PM on October 4, 2017

Response by poster: I promise I will not threadsit, but in response to Fish Sauce, it's been sitting in my kitchen for several weeks, and it's pretty dry. I'm pretty sure it was more green when I received it.

SaltySalticid: It has very little fragrance.
posted by zorseshoes at 12:18 PM on October 4, 2017

Even rosemary - the only herb that kinda has that shape kiiiinda - doesn't dry down to that color.

whatever it is, it most certainly is not oregano. Just toss it.
posted by fingersandtoes at 12:22 PM on October 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

Looks like seed heads from some grass. It likely was an accidental passenger in the pot or bag of oregano.
posted by sulaine at 12:24 PM on October 4, 2017 [4 favorites]

If it was an herb that would be beneficial for cooking, it would smell good. If you rub your fingers on it and get little fragrance, then it's not much use. If it's oregano, it will smell like oregano.
posted by hydra77 at 12:26 PM on October 4, 2017 [5 favorites]

Looks like grass to me. I don't think it's an herb.
posted by Slinga at 12:44 PM on October 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: It's farmers market day, so I walked over and asked the Maggie's Farm herb folks if they knew what it was. The person I spoke to said they'd never seen it before. They are one of the best farmers in SoCal and grow many specialty products for clients. I'm going all in on definitely not oregano or an herb.
posted by Room 641-A at 12:46 PM on October 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: That looks like the seed heads of Elusine indica to me. Definitely not oregano or any other sort of herb.
posted by elsietheeel at 12:54 PM on October 4, 2017

My front lawn is overrun with runaway oregano so I feel like oregano is my particular area of expertise. You already have your answer, but that is SO not oregano that I just had to chime in to say so.
posted by HotToddy at 1:02 PM on October 4, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks for your helpful answers. I marked a couple as "best" because of the specific identification by elsietheeel and Room 641-A bringing in the professional herb people.

I looked at some pictures of Eleusine indica and it looks an awful lot like a plant that grows all over my neighborhood, including in the park across the street from the buildings my friend and I live in. I think I've even seen it in our courtyard.

I even nibbled on a teeny amount and now my lips are a bit itchy. I've been known to have allergies to the local weeds.

Not a culinary herb, possibly an allergen--into the trash it goes! Thanks, y'all!
posted by zorseshoes at 1:11 PM on October 4, 2017 [6 favorites]

Please tell your friend about your findings in case she still thinks it’s oregano and cooks with it and inadvertently kills a bunch of people (or at least sickens them all greatly)
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:50 PM on October 4, 2017 [7 favorites]

That's so not oregano I laughed when I read all the answers and then finally clicked.
posted by masquesoporfavor at 4:55 PM on October 4, 2017 [4 favorites]