Thymus

Thymus subsp. var.	Thyme
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	Lamiaceae > Thymus var. , L.

For the popular culinary herb, refer to Thyme.

The genus Thymus (pronounced /ˈtaɪməs/), with the common English name thyme, contains about 350 species of aromatic perennial herbaceous plants and sub-shrubs to 40 cm tall, in the family Lamiaceae. Members are native to temperate regions in Europe, North Africa and Asia. The stems tend to be narrow or even wiry; the leaves are evergreen in most species, arranged in opposite pairs, oval, entire, and small, 4–20 mm long, and usually aromatic. The flowers are in dense terminal heads, with an uneven calyx, with the upper lip three-lobed, and the lower cleft; the corolla is tubular, 4–10 mm long, and white, pink or purple.

The botanic name and the English common name are both derived from an old Greek name for an uncertain aromatic herb.

There is some confusion over the naming and taxonomy of some species and Mrs Margaret Easter has compiled a list of synonyms for cultivated species and cultivars.

Several members of the genus are cultivated as culinary herbs or ornamentals, when they are also called thyme after its best known species, common thyme.

Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Thymus (the old Greek name used by Theophrastus either for this plant or for savory). Labiatae. Thyme. Small shrubs or subshrubs, mostly hardy, and excellent for edging and the rockery. Includes the popular culinary herb, Thyme Leaves small, entire; floral lvs. similar or changing to bracts in the spike: floral whorls usually few-fld., sometimes all distant and axillary, sometimes gathered in terminal short or lax spikes; bractlets minute: calyx ovoid, 10-13-nerved, 2-lipped, 5-toothed; corolla-tube included or exserted, naked inside, limb somewhat 2-lipped; stamens 4, in pairs: nutlets ovoid or oblong, smooth.—About 120 species, broadly dispersed in temperate regions, although the greatest number are natives of the Medit. region. Thymes are erect or prostrate plants with strong mint-like odor. Most of the species are grown as a ground-cover on banks, in borders, or rockwork. The creeping or prostrate habit, ability to persist in dry places and poor soils, and the colored or woolly foliage of some species make them adaptable to a variety of uses. The common T. Serpyllum is evergreen. T. vulgaris is the thyme of sweet-herb gardens, being prized in cookery. All thymes are easily propagated by means of division, although seedlings may sometimes be used to renew plantations of some of the species, particularly of T. vulgaris. Several names occur in American catalogues, all of which seem to be referable to three species, one of which is not a true Thymus. See Sage, where general culture of such herbs is given. T. corsicus, Pers.-Satureia corsica.—T. erectus, Hort., is offered in the trade as a small shrubby evergreen about 9-12 in. high, with a rigid habit and clusters of rose or pale pink fls.—T. ericaefolius, Roth – Micromeria varia, Benth. Subshrub, procumbent, pubescent or villous: lvs. sessile, lower ovate, upper lanceolate, somewhat canescent beneath: fls. minute, sessile in a sessile or peduncled fascicle; calyx usually purplish. Canary Isls. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

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Species

About 350 species, including^wp:
Thymus adamovicii
Thymus altaicus
Thymus amurensis
Thymus bracteosus
Thymus broussonetii
Thymus caespititius
Thymus camphoratus
Thymus capitatus
Thymus capitellatus
Thymus camphoratus
Thymus carnosus
Thymus cephalotus
Thymus cherlerioides
Thymus ciliatus
Thymus cilicicus
Thymus cimicinus
Thymus x citriodorus
Thymus Coccineus Group
Thymus comosus
Thymus comptus
Thymus curtus
Thymus decussatus
Thymus disjunctus
Thymus doerfleri
Thymus glabrescens
Thymus herba-barona (Caraway thyme)
Thymus hirsutus
Thymus hyemalis
Thymus inaequalis
Thymus integer
Thymus lanuginosus
Thymus leucotrichus
Thymus longicaulis
Thymus longiflorus
Thymus mandschuricus
Thymus marschallianus
Thymus mastichina
Thymus membranaceus
Thymus mongolicus
Thymus montanus
Thymus moroderi
Thymus nervulosus
Thymus nummularis
Thymus odoratissimus
Thymus pallasianus
Thymus pannonicus
Thymus polytrichus
Thymus praecox
Thymus proximus
Thymus pseudolanuginosus (woolly thyme)
Thymus pulegioides
Thymus quinquecostatus
Thymus richardii
Thymus serpyllum
Thymus sibthorpii
Thymus striatus
Thymus thracicus
Thymus villosus
Thymus vulgaris (common thyme)
Thymus zygis

Gallery

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  Broad leaved Thyme Thymus pulegioides

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  photo 2

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  photo 3

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Thymus. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Thymus QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)