R o s e m a r y Rosmarinus Officinalis
Also known as: Garden Rosemary, Rosemary Plant, Mi-tieh-hsiang (Chinese Name)		Tender perennial Height: 2-6 feet Tall, fragrant herb with pine needle-like leaves, and a pine-like scent on woody stems. Magickal Properties:  Protection, Love, Lust, Mental Powers, Exorcism, Purification, Healing, Sleep, Youth Medicinal Properties:  Stimulant, diaphoretic, carminative, nervine, aromatic, cephalic antispasmodic. Recommended Preparation:  Infusion, Tincture

Rosemary should be in everyone's kitchen, particularly in a place where it would be touched by anyone passing through.  It gives the entire room a spicy, pine-like smell.  However, if you are in a cooler climate (Zone 6 or colder) and you plant rosemary in your garden, it likely won't make a reappearance the following spring.  Rosemary is best kept in a large pot near a sunny window.  The soil should be well-drained and slightly sandy. Cuttings taken from a woody stem root easily, especially in late summer.  Keep it watered, or the lower leaves will start to dry up and fall off.  As with all plants, I would recommend a self-watering wick-style pot.  Be sure to put it outside on warm summer days, as full bright sun gives herbs their best flavour.
When harvesting, the leaves and flowers are the parts used.  For cooking, whole sprigs can be cut and either stripped and chopped or thrown in whole, depending on what you are cooking.  Rosemary lends wonderful flavour to lamb, as well as chicken, potatoes, and pasta sauces.  It it also wonderful when made into a butter and used on vegetables.  It can also be added to chicken broths and omelettes.  The flowers can be used in salads.  Because of its properties, when used medicinally, Rosemary should be used mainly for external complaints.  The amounts used in cooking are safe.

A fine tonic for the scalp and skin, adds luster to the hair and is a common ingredient of many commercial shampoos. A valuable heart and liver tonic and also helps reduce high blood pressure. Used to treat 'nerves', digestive disorders, palsy, weak memory, dizziness, migraine, dandruff, stimulates hair growth, restore appetite, gas, clears sight, jaundice, consumption, and menstrual pains.  An old fashioned remedy for colds, colic, and nervous conditions. Very good for headaches. Should be taken warm for these complaints.  It acts to raise blood pressure and improve circulation.  Good as a mouthwash for bad breath, gums, and sore throat. Aids digestion, cough, consumption, and strengthens the eyes. Because of the real danger of poisoning, rosemary is more often used externally. Leaves cooked in wine or a salve made from rosemary oil is useful for rheumatism, sores, eczema, bruises, age spots, marks and scars, and wounds.
An infusion of the leaves has also been used, alone or with borax, as a scalp wash to prevent baldness.
The leaves are used for flavoring. The oil is used as a perfume for ointments and liniments. Is reported to prevent premature baldness.  Today, rosemary is still regarded as an antidote to mental fatigue and forgetfulness. A tisane (tea) of this herb is becoming popular with tired businessmen and students who find it refreshing and a good natural remedy for bringing added agility to the intellect.
from Medicinal Herbs Online

Warnings:
- Excessive amounts of rosemary taken internally can cause fatal poisoning.
- Rosemary oil may not be taken internally, because it irritates the stomach, intestinal tract, and kidneys.
- Pregnant women should not drink rosemary tea.