Hyssopus officinalis LABIATAE
Herbal writer? don’t agree on whether the biblical ezob is in fact Hyssopus officinalis. Some believe that it is a variety of savory (Satureia thymus), which was a native of the area and whose properties are very similar to those mentioned in the scriptures, but by far the greater number agree that although Hyssopus officinalis was not a native of Palestine it grew freely in Southern Europe and Asia, naturalizing as it went; and it could conceivably have been well established in Palestine by this time. Its properties are the same today as those mentioned in many parts of both the Old and New Testament. After reading one modern report in Nature’s Medicines, by Richard Lucas, I incline towards the second view. Medical doctors have always regarded the “cleansing” properties of hyssop as so much superstitution; but recent analysis has found that the mould that produces penicillin grows on the leaves of Hyssopus officinalis. So when lepers were forced to cleanse themselves ritualistically with hyssop before beingallowed contactwith their healthier kin, compassionate Nature provided a very suitable protection for parents and relatives, a powerful antibiotic.
The herb is a hardy perennial, a compact plant very like a large nemesia in its foliage, and with attractive blue flowers growing along one side of the flowering stems. It grows easily from seed, which should be sown in spring, and the new seedlings come through very quickly. Three or four days should see their two seedleaves through the soil. The clump as it grows can be divided with the spade if new plants are required. Hyssop needs sunshine. Its other demands are few, but it must have the sun to produce its flowers, which will then bring the bees and the butterflies. Cabbage butterflies can be lured away from the cabbage patch if a few hyssop plants are at the other end of the garden in flower. So here is another common-sense bit of natural pest control.
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