The genus ''Thymus'' ( ;

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus '' Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...

s) contains about 350 species of aromatic

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition ...

s and subshrubs to 40 cm tall in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

, native to

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

regions in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, North

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. Stems tend to be narrow or even wiry;

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

in most species, arranged in opposite pairs, oval,

entire Entire may refer to: * Entire function, a function that is holomorphic on the whole complex plane * Entire (animal), an indication that an animal is not neutered * Entire (botany) This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of ...

, and small, 4–20 mm long, and usually aromatic. Thyme flowers are in dense terminal heads with an uneven

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

, with the upper lip three-lobed, and are yellow, white, or purple. Several members of the genus are cultivated as culinary herbs or ornamentals, when they are also called

after its best-known species, ''

Thymus vulgaris ''Thymus vulgaris'' (common thyme, German thyme, garden thyme or just thyme) is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to southern Europe from the western Mediterranean to southern Italy. Growing to tall by wide, it ...

'' or common thyme. ''Thymus'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described speci ...

(

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...

and

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

) insect species, including '' Chionodes distinctella'' and the ''

Coleophora ''Coleophora'' is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Many authors ...

'' case-bearers ''C. lixella'', ''C. niveicostella'', ''C. serpylletorum'', and ''C. struella'' (the latter three feed exclusively on ''Thymus'').

Classification

A considerable amount of confusion has existed in the naming of thymes. Many nurseries use common names rather than binomial names, which can lead to mix-ups. For example ''golden thyme'', ''lemon thyme'', and ''creeping thyme'' are all common names for more than one cultivar. Some confusion remains over the naming and taxonomy of some species, and Margaret Easter (who holds the

NCCPG National Plant Collection The National Plant Collection scheme is the main conservation vehicle whereby the Plant Heritage charity (formerly the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens) can accomplish its mission: to conserve, grow, propagate, docume ...

of thymes in the UK) has compiled a list of synonyms for cultivated species and

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s. The most common classification is that used by Jalas, in eight sections: *Micantes: Iberian Peninsula and north Africa, includes ''T. caespititius'' *Mastichina: Iberian Peninsula, includes ''T. mastichina'' *Piperella: Monotypic section confined to the vicinity of Valencia, Spain *Teucrioides: Balkan Peninsula *Pseudothymbra: Iberian Peninsula and north Africa, includes ''T. cephalotos'', ''T. longiflorus'' and ''T. membranaceus'' *Thymus: Western Mediterranean region, includes ''T. camphoratus'', ''T. carnosus'', ''T. hyemalis'', ''T. vulgaris'' and ''T. zygis'' *Hyphodromi: Throughout the Mediterranean region, includes ''T. cilicicus'' and ''T. comptus'' *Serpyllum: The largest section, throughout whole region, apart from Madeira and Azores, includes ''T. comosus'', ''T. doerfleri'', ''T. herba-barona'', ''T. longicaulis'', ''T. pannonicus'', ''T. praecox'', ''T. pulegioides'', ''T. quinquecostatus'', ''T. richardii'', ''T. serpyllum'', ''T. sibthorpii'' and ''T. thracicus''

Selected species

*''

Thymus adamovicii The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. T ...

'' *''

Thymus altaicus The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. T ...

'' *''

Thymus amurensis The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. T ...

'' *''

Thymus boissieri The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. T ...

'' *''

Thymus bracteosus The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. T ...

'' *''

Thymus broussonetii The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. T ...

'' *''

Thymus caespititius ''Thymus caespititius'' is dwarf, aromatic mat-forming groundcover shrub. It is native to oceanic areas in the Iberian Peninsula (northwest Portugal and northwest Spain) and the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira. The plant has narr ...

'' *'' Thymus camphoratus'' *'' Thymus capitatus'' *'' Thymus capitellatus'' *'' Thymus camphoratus'' *'' Thymus carnosus'' *'' Thymus cephalotus'' *'' Thymus cherlerioides'' *'' Thymus ciliatus'' *'' Thymus cilicicus'' *'' Thymus cimicinus'' *''

Thymus citriodorus ''Thymus citriodorus'', the lemon thyme or citrus thyme, is a lemon-scented evergreen mat-forming perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. There has been a great amount of confusion over the plant's correct name and origin. Recent DNA analysis su ...

'' (''Thymus × citriodorus'') syn. ''T. fragrantissimus'', ''T. serpyllum citratus'', ''T. serpyllum citriodorum''. – citrus thyme *'' Thymus comosus'' *'' Thymus comptus'' *'' Thymus curtus'' *'' Thymus decussatus'' *'' Thymus disjunctus'' *'' Thymus doerfleri'' *'' Thymus dubjanskyi'' *'' Thymus glabrescens'' *''

Thymus herba-barona ''Thymus herba-barona'' is a species of thyme native to Corsica, Sardinia, and Majorca. It is also sometimes known by the common name caraway thyme, as it has a strong scent similar to caraway, for which it can be used as a substitute in any reci ...

'' *'' Thymus hirsutus'' *'' Thymus hyemalis'' *'' Thymus inaequalis'' *''

Thymus integer ''Thymus integer'' is a strongly aromatic, sprawling, gnarled subshrub generally less than 10 cm high. It produces white to dark rosy purple flowers between March and June.Cyprus Flora in Colour the Endemics, V. Pantelas, T. Papachristophoro ...

'' *'' Thymus lanuginosus'', syn. ''T. serpyllum'' – woolly thyme *'' Thymus leucospermus'' *'' Thymus leucotrichus'' *'' Thymus longicaulis'' *'' Thymus longiflorus'' *'' Thymus mandschuricus'' *'' Thymus marschallianus'' *''

Thymus mastichina ''Thymus mastichina'' is a species in the family Lamiaceae. It is endemic to the central Iberian Peninsula in Spain and Portugal. The perennial herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding veg ...

'' *'' Thymus membranaceus'' *'' Thymus mongolicus'' *'' Thymus moroderi'' *'' Thymus nervulosus'' *'' Thymus nummularis'' *'' Thymus odoratissimus'' *'' Thymus pallasianus'' *'' Thymus pallidus'' *'' Thymus pannonicus'' *'' Thymus praecox'' – creeping thyme *'' Thymus proximus'' *'' Thymus pseudolanuginosus'', syn. ''T. serpyllum'' – woolly thyme *'' Thymus pulegioides'' – lemon thymeUSDA Thymus pulegioides
/ref> *'' Thymus quinquecostatus'' *'' Thymus richardii'' *'' Thymus satureioides'' *'' Thymus serpyllum'' *'' Thymus sibthorpii'' *'' Thymus striatus'' *'' Thymus thracicus'' – lavender thyme *'' Thymus villosus'' *''

'' – common thyme *'' Thymus zygis''

References

Sources

Easter M. Thymus

External links

World Checklist
{{Taxonbar, from=Q131224 Lamiaceae genera Subshrubs Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus