Thymus serpyllum

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Herb, Spice, Flowers, Flowers - tea

The leaves can be eaten raw in salads or added as a flavouring to cooked foods — thyme holds its flavour well through long, slow cooking. For drying, harvest in early and late summer just before the flowers open and dry quickly. The leaves also make an aromatic tea.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It is best in well-drained soils and in an open sunny position. It is resistant to drought and frost. It suits plant hardiness zones 4-9. Hobart Botanical Gardens.

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How to Identify

A creeping herb. It is variable and lies along the ground. It forms mats and is 7-15 cm high. The stems are slender and creeping. The leaves are oval or narrow and softly hairy. They are 4-8 mm long. The flowers are pink or purple. They grow in rounded heads. There are many different cultivated varieties.

How to Grow

Requires a light well-drained preferably calcareous soil in a sunny position. Succeeds in dry soils. Grows well between stepping stones on paths, tolerating light treading. Succeeds on walls. Thymes dislike wet conditions, especially in the winter. A layer of gravel on the soil around them will help protect the foliage from wet soils. Plants are hardy to about -15°c. This is a very difficult genus taxonomically, the species hybridize freely with each other and often intergrade into each other. This species is harvested commercially for its essential oil, known as 'wild thyme'. Closely related to T. praecox arcticus, but this species is not so common in Britain. It is a very polymorphic plant. A good companion for most other plants, it makes a very good carpeting plant for the rockery or between paving stones and can also be grown in a short lawn. The flowers are rich in nectar and are very attractive to honey bees, the plant also attracts butterflies. Heat Zone 9-1. Thyme is typically harvested in late spring to early summer, just before the plant flowers for the best flavor. Thyme usually flowers in late spring to early summer, generally from June to August (Northern Hemisphere). Thyme is considered a slow to moderate grower, reaching maturity in about 1 to 2 years under optimal conditions.

Propagation: Sow seed in spring in a cold frame, or in autumn in a greenhouse. Surface sow or barely cover the seed, as germination can be erratic. Once seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and grow on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out into permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Divide plants in spring or autumn — larger divisions can go straight into permanent positions, while smaller ones are best potted up and grown on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until established, then planted out in summer or the following spring. Take cuttings of young shoots, 5–8cm with a heel, in May/June in a frame, or half-ripe wood cuttings, 5–8cm with a heel, in July/August in a frame. Layering is also possible.

Medicinal Uses

Wild thyme is a commonly used domestic remedy, valued especially for its antiseptic properties and beneficial effect on the digestive system. The whole plant is anthelmintic, strongly antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, deodorant, diaphoretic, disinfectant, expectorant, sedative, and tonic. It is taken internally for bronchitis, catarrh, laryngitis, flatulent indigestion, painful menstruation, colic, and hangovers, and is said to be effective in treating alcoholism. It should not be prescribed for pregnant women. Externally, it is applied to minor injuries, mastitis, and mouth, throat, and gum infections. The plant can be used fresh at any time of year, or harvested as it comes into flower and either distilled for the oil or dried for later use. The seeds are used as a vermifuge. Wild thyme shares all the medicinal properties of garden thyme (T. vulgaris), though to a lesser degree. An essential oil distilled from the leaves is used in treating stress-related conditions, though it can cause allergic reactions.

Other Uses

An essential oil from the leaves and flowering tops is used in perfumery, soaps, and medicinally. It has fungicidal and disinfectant properties; approximately 150 grams of oil are obtained from 100 kilos of plant material. The dried flowers repel moths from clothing, and the growing plant is said to repel cabbage root fly. Thyme makes a good ground cover for sunny positions — space plants about 45cm apart each way, with weeding needed for the first year or so. Plants perform best when young or growing vigorously, as they tend to become bare in patches otherwise. The flowers are rich in nectar and pollen, attracting bees and butterflies. The dense foliage provides shelter for small wildlife and beneficial insects, including overwintering invertebrates. Its strong aroma can confuse or repel pests, making it a useful companion plant. Thyme is also suitable as a perennial groundcover for zone 2 firebreaks — the low-growing habit provides little fuel. Summer flowers attract bees.

Thymus serpyllum, known by the common names of Breckland thyme, 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 subshrub forming creeping stems up to 10 cm (4 in) tall. The oval evergreen leaves are up to 8 mm. The strongly scented flowers are either lilac, pink-purple, magenta, up to 6 mm long and produced in clusters. The species is native 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.

Notes

There are between 300 and 400 Thymus species. Contains flavonoids, tannins, terpenoid compounds, volatile oil (containing mainly thymol, carvacrol, p-cimen, linalool, α-pinene and other mono and sesquiterpenes (β-caryophyllenes, germacren D or nerolidol), phenolic acids rosemary) and flavonoids (quercitin, eriocitrin, luteolin, apigenin, serpyllin).

More from Lamiaceae

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White flower aegiphila

Aegiphila bogotensis

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