Thymus serpyllum, known by the common names of Breckland thyme,[Schauer, Thomas (1978). A Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Europe, Collins, London, p. 184. .] Breckland wild thyme, wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is a low, usually prostrate shrub subshrub forming creeping stems up to tall. The oval evergreen leaves are up to 8 mm. The strongly scented are either lilac, pink-purple, magenta, up to 6 mm long and produced in clusters.
The species is Native species to most of Europe and North Africa. The hardy plant tolerates some pedestrian traffic and produces odors ranging from heavily herbal to lightly lemon, depending on the variety.
Description
Wild thyme is a creeping dwarf evergreen shrub, growing to tall.
It has woody stems up to 10 cm long and a
taproot. It forms matlike plants that root from the nodes of the squarish, limp stems. The
leaves are 3–8 mm long in opposite pairs, nearly stalkless, with linear elliptic round-tipped blades and untoothed margins. The plant sends up erect flowering shoots in summer. The flowers are 4–6 mm long and usually pink or mauve, rarely white, with a tube-like
Sepal and an irregular straight-tubed, hairy corolla. The upper petal is notched and the lower one is larger than the two lateral petals and has three flattened lobes which form a lip. Each flower has four projecting stamens and two fused carpels. The fruit is a dry, four-chambered
schizocarp.
Chemistry
The oils of
T. serpyllum contain
thymol,
carvacrol,
limonene,
paracymene,
gamma-terpinene and beta-caryophyllene.
Distribution and habitat
Wild thyme is native to the
Palearctic realm of Europe and Asia. It is a plant of thin soils and can be found growing on sandy-soiled heaths, rocky outcrops, hills, banks, roadsides and riverside sand banks.
Ecology
Wild thyme is one of the plants on which both the
common blue and
large blue larvae feed and it is also attractive to bees.
[Eva Penn-Smith, Caterpillar food plants (PDF)]
Cultivation
Creeping and mounding variants of
T. serpyllum are used as border plants and ground cover around gardens and stone paths. It may also be used to replace a
Poa pratensis lawn to
Xeriscaping low to moderate foot traffic areas due to its tolerance for low water and poor soils.
Creeping thyme has also been used to "upholster" herb seats, similar to , and provide a fragrant surface to sit on.
Several cultivars have been produced, of which 'Pink Chintz' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Uses
Wild thyme can be used as a herb much as domestic
thyme, with a milder flavor.
Gallery
Image:Thymus serpyllum flowering plants.jpg
Image:Thymus serp 1.jpg
Image:Базаихский разрез, Thymus serpyllum.jpg
Image:Thymus aa1.jpg
Image:Thymus serpyllum1.jpg
Image:Wilder Thymian.jpg
Image:Thymus serpyllum var albus1.jpg|var. albus
Image:Thymus serpyllum var albus2.jpg|var. albus
File:Creeping red thyme.jpg| Thymus serpyllum coccineus
File:Wild Thyme, Thymus serpyllum.JPG|Wild thyme in the UBC Botanical Garden
===Illustrations===
External links
