Hyssop

Hyssop, Hyssopus officinalis, is a herbaceous plant up to 60 cm tall from the labiate family. The plant is native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia. It has also been cultivated as a medicinal and aromatic plant in monastery gardens north of the Alps since the early Middle Ages.

Hyssop grows wild on dry and rocky slopes. The leaves of the plant have an aromatic scent and are densely covered with oil glands on both sides. The blue-violet flowers provide plenty of nectar, which is why hyssop is valued as a good bee food plant.

No recognized phytotherapeutic effect, see also Herba hyssopi.

Hyssopus officinalis is the parent plant of Herba Hyssopi, the hyssop herb, also known as Ipsenkraut or Josefskraut, and of Oleum Hyssopi, the hyssop oil.

Cosmetics: The following extracts and components of the hyssop plant are used in cosmetic formulations:

• Hyssopus officinalis extract (INCI), the leaf extract from hyssop.
• Hyssopus officinalis herb extract (INCI), the complete herb extract
• Hyssopus officinalis herb oil (INCI), the oil from the herb of hyssop
• Hyssopusofficinalis leaf oil (INCI), the oil from the leaves of hyssop

Herbal medicine: stomach and intestinal disorders. The tea made from hyssop flowers and leaves has an expectorant and blood-purifying effect and relieves coughs and bronchitis.