The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dittany \Dit"ta*ny\, n. [OE. dytane, detane, dytan, OF. ditain, F. dictame, L. dictamnum, fr. Gr. di`ktamnon, di`ktamnos, a plant growing in abundance on Mount Dicte in Crete. Cf. Dittander.] (Bot.)
A plant of the Mint family ( Origanum Dictamnus), a native of Crete.
The Dictamnus Fraxinella. See Dictamnus.
In America, the Cunila Mariana, a fragrant herb of the Mint family.
Wikipedia
Origanum dictamnus (dittany of Crete, Cretan dittany or hop marjoram), known in Greek as δίκταμο (díktamo, cf. " dittany") or in Cretan dialect έρωντας (erontas, "love"), is a tender perennial plant that grows 20–30 cm high. It is a healing, therapeutic and aromatic plant that only grows wild on the mountainsides and gorges of the Greek island of Crete, Greece. The dittany of Crete is widely used for food flavouring and medicinal purposes, in addition to it featuring as an ornamental plant in gardens. This small, lanate shrub is easily recognised by the distinctive soft, woolly covering of white-grey hair on its stems and round green leaves, giving it a velvety texture. Tiny rose-pink flowers surrounded by brighter purple-pink bracts add an exuberant splash of colour to the plant in summer and autumn. The dittany is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Plant Species 1997.
Usage examples of "origanum dictamnus".
The leaves of a plant growing in Crete and Candy were used by the Ancients for wounds, and it is still known as Dictamnus or Dittany of Crete, being Origanum Dictamnus of the Labiatae family.