Hyssop

Hyssop (Hyssopus), a genus of plants of the natural order Labiate, distinguished by four straight diverging stamens, and a calyx with fifteen ribs. The known species are few. The Common Hyssop (H. officinalis) is a native of the south of Europe and the East. It is found on the Alps of Austria. It is a half-shrubby plant, about 1½ feet high, the upper part of the stems quadrangular, the leaves evergreen and lanceolate, the flowers in one-sided whorled racemes. The flowers are generally of a very beautiful blue. It has an agreeable aromatic odour. It has long been in cultivation for the sake of its leaves and young shoots, which are sometimes used for culinary purposes as a seasoning, but more generally in a dried state as a stomachic and carminative. A syrup made with them is a popular remedy for colds. The virtues of hyssop depend on a volatile oil.—The hyssop of the Bible has been supposed to be some species of Phytolacca (q.v.), as P. acinosa, a native of the Himalaya; but on the authority of Dr Royle it appears to have been the common Caper (q.v.).—Hedge Hyssop is Gratiola officinalis. See GRATIOLA.