Dioscorides' Plants, Then and Now
δίκταμνον

Cretan dittany

Origanum dictamnus L. · Lamiaceae
Identification: CertainEndemic to Greece · Kriti (KK floristic region); range-restrictedLC Least Concern
Risk rank
1 of 32 (1–23)
Risk score
0.62(0.48–0.71)4 · High

Then and now

2050 · moderate emissions. SSP2-4.5, 2041-2060, 3 climate models; ranges show the spread.

The plant
δίκταμνον
Photograph of Origanum dictamnus
Photo: Peter A. Mansfeld · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (photo of Cretan dittany)
2050 · moderate emissions
Natural Earth (PD) · model output · ~10 km cells
Loading map layers (0 of 1)
Layers
Range keptLost by 2050Gained by 2050Cultivation zoneNatura 2000Occurrence cellCells ≈ 10 × 10 km

Occurrences are aggregated to ~10 km cells; exact points are never published. View range data as a table

De Materia Medica · Book III · ch. 32c. 50–70 CE
δίκταμνον
diktamnon
δίκταμνον, ὃ καλοῦσί τινες γλήχωνα ἀγρίαν, οἱ δὲ βαίτιον. πόα ἐστὶ Κρητική, δριμεῖα λίαν, ὁμοία γλήχωνι …
Modern identification
Origanum dictamnusL. · LamiaceaeCertain

Source: Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 510; Fraas 1845, pp. 181-182; Osbaldeston 2000.

Full citation and quoted evidence

Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 510 (Comm. III cap. XXXIV): 'De dictamno Dioscoridis cretico nunquam exstitit controversia ... Est Origanum Dictamnus L., cuius iconem fere primam Dodonaeus exhibuit.' Same chapter: ψευδοδίκταμνον = Marrubium pseudodictamnus L.; third dictamnon conjectured as Thymus mastichina L. (these are the chapter's other kinds, not rivals to δίκταμνον). Fraas 1845, Synopsis plantarum florae classicae, pp. 181-182: 'Orig. Dictamnus L., ächter Diptam' = δίκταμνος Hippocr., Theophr. 9,16, Diosc. 3,37; modern name στοματόχορτον; 'Nur auf Kreta bis jetzt.' Osbaldeston 2000, ch. 3-37 DIKTAMNON: 'SUGGESTED' list gives both Dictamnus albus / D. fraxinella (White Dittany) and Origanum dictamnus / Dictamnus creticus / Amaracus dictamnus (Dittany of Crete). (https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_dioscsprengelx02/page/n511/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n226/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n227/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/dioscorides-de-materia-medica-2000-english)

Opening words of the chapter (Wellmann numbering). Edition: Wellmann 1906, Pedanii Dioscuridis Anazarbei De materia medica vol. II (libri III-IV), Berlin: Weidmann; read from page scan on archive.org (BIUSante_65865x02), pp. 41-42. See the page scan.

Modern official status

European Medicines Agency herbal monograph

Origani dictamni herba (Origanum dictamnus L., herba) · category: traditional

We report regulatory status only and make no claim about effects. Read the monograph for its exact wording.

Open the monograph on ema.europa.eu

Projected range change by 2050

2050 · moderate (SSP2-4.5)−58% (−24 to −81%)
2050 · high (SSP5-8.5)−65% (−51 to −93%)

Median and spread across 3 climate models. Whisker axis −80% to +20%, dashed tick at 0; a chevron means the value runs beyond the axis.

Suitable cultivation area, 2050 moderate17 km² (0–210 km²)

Risk score breakdown

0.62 (0.48–0.71)High risk class 4
00.51.0
  • Range loss 0.23 of max 0.40 · (0.10–0.32)
  • Endemism 0.20 of max 0.20 · endemic to Greece
  • Conservation status 0.00 of max 0.20 · LC · Least Concern
  • Harvest pressure 0.19 of max 0.20

Stays in the top 10 in 82% of 1,000 random weightings.

How the score is built, and how sensitive it is to weights

Model quality

Standard grade
AUC (spatial block CV)
0.96 ± 0.02
Distance-only baseline AUC
0.96 ours is higher (by < 0.005)
Boyce index
0.63 ± 0.18
TSS
0.89 ± 0.06
Occurrence records
90 after cleaning (of 139)

5-fold spatial block cross-validation (~25 km blocks); ± is one standard deviation across folds. Null model AUC 0.49. The baseline scores each held-out point by its distance to the nearest training record, on the same folds. "Standard" grade means ≥ 30 records, AUC ≥ 0.75 and above the baseline; fewer than 10 records is a data gap; anything else is low grade.

Suggested action

Protect and cultivate

Protect remaining wild stands and start cultivation in the 2050 zones.

Rule: Loses habitat in all 3 climate models · has a 2050 cultivation zone.

Where it could be grown

Identification through time

Who has matched δίκταμνον to which modern plant, from the Renaissance to today.

All names through time
Cited for the identification we modelProposed an alternativeAlternative preferred by our sourceAlternative rejected by our sourceCommonly proposed, not verified by us
Renaissance commentators
Linnaean botany & Flora Graeca
Edition
Modern
150016001700180019002000

Select a mark to read who proposed which plant, and the source we read it in.

Dates are each authority's main herbal or commentary (approximate, "c."), used to order the timeline. Claims are parsed from our curated identification table; every quote links back to a page scan or edition on the plant page.

Range data (map alternative)

ScenarioSuitable ~10 km cellsChangeShare in Natura 2000
Now138—24.6%
2050 moderate88 (53–112)−58% (−24 to −81%)22% (17–24%)
2050 high78 (21–97)−65% (−51 to −93%)21% (5–24%)