Marjoram

(1) Perdita. Here's flowers for you;
Hot Lavender, Mints, Savory, Marjoram.

Winter's Tale, act iv, sc. 4 (103).

(2) Lear. Give the word.

Edgar. Sweet Marjoram.

Lear. Pass.

King Lear, act iv, sc. 6 (93).

(3) The Lily I condemned for thy hand,
And buds of Marjoram had stolen thy hair.

Sonnet xcix.

(4) Clown. Indeed, sir, she was the sweet Marjoram of the Salad, or rather the Herb-of-grace.

All's Well that Ends Well, act iv, sc. 5 (17).

In Shakespeare's time several species of Marjoram were grown, especially the Common Marjoram (Origanum vulgare), a British plant, the Sweet Marjoram (O. Marjorana), a plant of the South of Europe, from which the English name comes, and the Winter Marjoram (O. Horacleoticum). They were all favourite pot herbs, so that Lyte calls the common one "a delicate and tender herb," "a noble and odoriferous plant;" but, like so many of the old herbs, they have now fallen into disrepute. The comparison of a man's hair to the buds of Marjoram is not very intelligible, but probably it was a way of saying that the hair was golden.