Thymus vulgaris L.
EOL Text
Population
Population Trend
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| Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/203348 |
Major Threats
There are no known threats to this species.
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| Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/203348 |
Thymus vulgaris is the source of the herb thyme. It is a native of southern Europe, although it now grows more widely both wild and in cultivation. The essential oil contains thymol, which is often included in pharmaceutical preparations as an antiseptic. The Thyme plant is a small, bushy sub-shrub that grows to around 45 cm tall. The grayish or green leaves are very small (4 to 8 mm long). The white, pink, or violet flowers are borne in rounded or ovoid terminal clusters.
(Vaughan and Geissler 1997)
Thyme is an insect-pollinated perennial, diploid plant. It is gynodioecious. i.e., natural populations include both hermaphrodite and female individuals. Hermaphrodites have large, protandrous (i.e., male parts mature first) flowers producing substantial amounts of both pollen and seeds; females have smaller, shorter-lived flowers with no stamens. Hermaphrodite Thyme plants produce significantly larger flowers than do females. The frequency of females in populations is highly variable. Thyme exhibits a pattern that is uncommon among gynodioecious plant species in that there is a combination of very high female frequency with hermaphrodites having significant female function (more typically, the hermaphrodites in gynodioecious species function largely as males).
(Manicacci et al. 1998; Ehlers and Thompson 2004)
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| Rights holder/Author | Leo Shapiro, Leo Shapiro |
| Source | No source database. |
Conservation Actions
There are no conservation measures in place or needed however research is needed to confirm the natural distribution of the species. It is not known to have been assessed on any national Red List.
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| Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/203348 |
"Notes: Western Ghats, Cultivated, Native of West Mediterranean Region"
Thymus vulgaris (common thyme, German thyme,[1] 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 15–30 cm (6–12 in) tall by 40 cm (16 in) wide, it is a bushy, woody-based evergreen subshrub with small, highly aromatic, grey-green leaves and clusters of purple or pink flowers in early summer.[2]
It is useful in the garden as groundcover, where it can be short-lived, but is easily propagated from cuttings.[2] It is also the main source of thyme as an ingredient in cooking and as an herbal medicine.
Cultivars[edit]
Numerous cultivars and hybrids have been developed for ornamental purposes. Nomenclature can be very confusing. [3] French, German and English varieties vary by leaf shape and colour and essential oils. [4] The many cultivars include 'Argenteus' (silver thyme). [5]
The cultivar 'Silver Queen', with white-margined leaves, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[6]
See also[edit]
Notes and references[edit]
- ^ "Bonnie Plants Thyme". Retrieved January 10, 2015.
- ^ a b RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.
- ^ Totally Thyme
- ^ Herbs 2000: Thymus vulgaris
- ^ Thymus argenteus
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Thymus 'Silver Queen'". Retrieved 6 June 2013.
Bibliography[edit]
- L. H. Bailey; Manual of Cultivated Plants.
- M. Easter; International Thymus Register and Checklist.
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| Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
| Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thymus_vulgaris&oldid=641987701 |
The species is native to the western Mediterranean region from the Iberian Peninsula to Italy (northern Italy, southern France (including Corsica), eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands). Records from the western Balearic Islands (Ibiza) and eastern Spain refer to the endemic subsp. aestivus (Reut. ex Willk.) A. Bols & O. Bols (L. Sezpers. comm. 2014).
It has been cultivated widely (USDA 2012),cultivated in Britain by 1548 and probably long before. In Italy it has been recorded up to elevations of 800 m (Flora Italiana 2012) but usually occurs at lower elevations. Reported in Spain at altitudes of up to 2,000 m (Blancaet al. 2009).
Questionably endemic to Europe; the status and origin of records fromNorth Africa (Morocco),require confirmation.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/203348 |
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
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| Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
| Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Thymus+vulgaris |
"Tamil Nadu: Dindigul, Nilgiri"
Chile Central
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Pablo Gutierrez, IABIN |
| Source | No source database. |