Sweet marjoram origanum majorana is well known as a culinary herb cultivated in gardens all over the world steam distillation of the herb origanum majorana gives this strongly aromatic oil vaguely reminiscent of nutmeg and cardamom egypt is the prime source for this oil it is important to differentiate between the various types of marjoram thyme and oregano as their names tend to get very confusing even to experts sweet marjoram essential oil makes up only a small proportion of the marj