## 2 Materials and Methods  
### Plant Material  
A collection of 8 accessions of _Origanum vulgarae_ L. subsp. _virens_ (Table 1) and 8 accessions of _Thymus mastichina_ L. subsp. _danyanae_ R. [PERSON] (Table 2), progeny of seeds gathered in their natural habitats, were harvested at the beginning of the flowering period, during April and June of 2022. The initial stage of flowering is characterized by the appearanceof 20 to 30% of flowers. During this phenological phase, the plants exhibit a dry matter content (DM) ranging from 20 to 25%, indicating a moisture content of approximately 80%. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Accession \({}^{\star}\)** & **Origin** & **Elevation (m)** & **Field Observations** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV10423} & Ponte de Sor & 245 & Elliptical oval bracts \\  & Portalegre & & \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV10442} & Sousel & \multirow{2}{*}{1278} & Common morphotype \\  & Portalegre & & \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV10442 \({}^{\star\star}\)} & Sousel & \multirow{2}{*}{1278} & Common morphotype \\  & Portalegre & & \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV11267} & Gimonde & \multirow{2}{*}{622} & Dense foliage and sparse flowers \\  & Braganca & & \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV11280} & Parámio & \multirow{2}{*}{780} & Common morphotype \\  & Braganca & & \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV11408} & Alcanede & \multirow{2}{*}{297} & Sparse foliage and smaller leaves \\  & Santarem & & \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV16272} & Rio Frio & \multirow{2}{*}{333} & Common morphotype \\  & Viana do Castelo & & \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV16286} & Soajo & \multirow{2}{*}{127} & Larger codiform leaves with \\  & Viana do Castelo & & \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV16427} & Alpendrinha & \multirow{2}{*}{650} & Common morphotype \\  & Castelo Branco & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Common morphotype: ovate leaves with obtuse base, ciliated margin, and acute apex; pink and white petals and obovate bracts; \({}^{\star}\) Accession according to the Portuguese Bank of Plant Germplasm (Braga, Portugal); \({}^{\star\star}\) This Accession corresponds to the multiplication from the original BPGV10442.  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Identification of oregano (_Origanum vulgare_ L. subsp. _virens_) accessions, including their origin, elevation, and field observations. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Accession \({}^{\star}\)** & **Origin** & **Sub-Sample** & **Field Observations** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV10381} & Vila Velha de Rodão & 1.1 & Reddish fruiting branch with elliptical leaves and larger nodes \\  & Portalegre & 1.2 & Light green foliage color \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV10384} & Ponte de Sor & 2.1 & Reddish fruiting branch with elliptical leaves and larger nodes \\  & Portalegre & 2.2 & Chalk-green foliage \\  & Portalegre & 2.3 & Common morphotype \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV11264} & Gimonde & 3.1 & More citrus-green foliage \\  & Braganca & 3.2 & Common morphotype \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV11276} & Donai Braganca & 4.1 & Common morphotype \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV11288} & Castanheira & 5.1 & Dark green foliage \\  & Braganca & 5.2 & Common morphotype \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV11295} & Minas de Santo Adriao & 6.1 & Larger leaves and revolute margin \\  & Braganca & 6.2 & Common morphotype \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{BPGV12078} & Vilarinho da Castanheira & 7.1 & Larger leaves and revolute margin \\  & Braganca & 7.2 & Common morphotype \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{BPGV12093} & Junqueira & 8.1 & Reddish fruiting branch with elliptical leaves and larger nodes \\  & Jnqueira & 8.2 & More brownish fruiting branches \\ \cline{1-1}  & Braganca & 8.3 & Larger leaves and revolute margin \\ \cline{1-1}  & Braganca & 8.4 & Light green foliage color \\ \cline{1-1}  & & 8.5 & Common morphotype \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Common morphotype: Leaves and flowers distributed along the entire stem leaves with elliptical, flat marginal veins, and green foliage. \({}^{\star}\) Accession according to the Portuguese Bank of Plant Germplasm (Braga, Portugal).  
\end{table}