 |
|
Thymus serpyllum. |
Thymus
(Timo, Timijan -
Thyme)
[Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyme and sub-species.]
The genus Thymus (thymes) contains about 350 species of aromatic perennial
herbaceous plants and subshrubs to 40 cm tall in the family
Lamiaceae, native to temperate regions in Europe, North Africa and
Asia. It is a relative of the oregano genus Origanum.
Stems tend to be narrow or even wiry;
leaves are evergreen in most species, arranged in opposite pairs,
oval, entire, and small, 4-20 mm long, and usually aromatic. Thyme
Flowers are in dense terminal heads, with an uneven calyx, with the
upper lip three-lobed, yellow, white or purple.
Several members of the genus are
cultivated as culinary herbs or ornamentals, when they are also
called thyme after its best-known species, Thymus vulgaris or
common thyme.
Thymus species are used as
food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth)
insect species, including Chionodes distinctella and the
Coleophora case-bearers C. lixella, C. niveicostella,
C. serpylletorum and C. struella (the latter three
feed exclusively on Thymus).
Ancient Egyptians used thyme for
embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as
incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage. The
spread of thyme throughout Europe was thought to be due to the
Romans, as they used it to purify their rooms and to "give an
aromatic flavour to cheese and liqueurs". In the European Middle
Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off
nightmares. In this period, women also often gave knights and
warriors gifts that included thyme leaves, as it was believed to
bring courage to the bearer. Thyme was also used as incense and
placed on coffins during
funerals, as it was supposed to assure passage into the next
life.
Thyme is best cultivated in a hot,
sunny location with well-drained soil. It is generally planted in
the spring, and thereafter grows as a perennial. It can be
propagated by seed, cuttings, or dividing rooted sections of the
plant. It tolerates drought well. The plants can take deep freezes
and are found growing wild on mountain highlands.
In some Levantine countries, and
Assyria, the condiment za'atar (Arabic for thyme) contains
thyme as a vital ingredient. It is a common component of the
bouquet garni, and of herbes de Provence.
 Thyme is sold both fresh and dried.
While summer-seasonal, fresh greenhouse thyme is often available
year-round. The fresh form is more flavourful, but also less
convenient; storage life is rarely more than a week. However, the
fresh form can last many months if carefully frozen.
Fresh thyme is commonly sold in
bunches of sprigs. A sprig is a single stem snipped from the plant.
It is composed of a woody stem with paired leaf or flower clusters
("leaves") spaced 1⁄2
to 1 inch (13 to 25 mm) apart. A recipe may measure thyme by the
bunch (or fraction thereof), or by the sprig, or by the tablespoon
or teaspoon. Dried thyme is widely used in Armenia in tisanes
(called urc).
Depending on how it is used in a
dish, the whole sprig may be used (e.g., in a bouquet garni),
or the leaves removed and the stems discarded. Usually, when a
recipe specifies "bunch" or "sprig", it means the whole form; when
it specifies spoons, it means the leaves. It is perfectly acceptable
to substitute dried for whole thyme.
Leaves may be removed from stems
either by scraping with the back of a knife, or by pulling through
the fingers or tines of a fork.
Thyme retains its flavour on drying
better than many other herbs.
Oil of thyme, the essential oil of
common thyme (Thymus
vulgaris), contains 20–54% thymol. Thyme essential oil also
contains a range of additional compounds, such as p-cymene,
myrcene, borneol, and linalool. Thymol, an antiseptic, is an active
ingredient in various commercially produced mouthwashes such as
Listerine. Before the advent of modern antibiotics, oil of thyme was
used to medicate bandages.
There has been a considerable amount
of confusion in the naming of thymes. Many nurseries use common
names rather than the binomial name, which can lead to confusion.
For example golden thyme, lemon thyme and creeping thyme can all
refer to more than one cultivar. There is some confusion over the
naming and taxonomy of some species, and Margaret Easter (who holds
the NCCPG National Plant Collection of thymes in the UK) has
compiled a list of synonyms for cultivated species and cultivars.
The commonest 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
 |
|
Thymus vulgaris. |
Thymus Vulgaris
Thymus vulgaris (common thyme,
German thyme, garden thyme, summer thyme, winter thyme, French 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.
Common thyme is a Mediterranean
perennial which is best suited to well-drained soils and full sun.
It is useful in the garden as a groundcover where it can be
short-lived, but is easily propagated from cuttings. Slightly
spicier than oregano and sweeter than sage. it is the main source of
thyme as a culinary herb and as an herbal medicine.
Oil of thyme, the essential oil of
common thyme, contains 20–54% thymol. Thyme essential oil also
contains a range of additional compounds, such as p-cymene,
myrcene, borneol, and linalool. Thymol, an antiseptic, is an active
ingredient in various commercially produced mouthwashes such as
Listerine Before the advent of modern antibiotics, oil of thyme was
used to medicate bandages.
Thymus Serpyllum
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, native to most of Europe and North
Africa. It is a low, usually prostrate subshrub growing to 2 cm
(1 in) tall with creeping stems up to 10 cm (4 in) long. The oval
evergreen leaves are 3-8 mm long. The strongly scented flowers are
either lilac, pink-purple, magenta, or a rare white, all 4–6 mm long
and produced in clusters. The hardy plant tolerates some pedestrian
traffic and produces odors ranging from heavily herbal to lightly
lemon, depending on the variety.
Wild thyme is a creeping dwarf
evergreen shrub with woody stems and a taproot. It forms matlike
plants that root from the nodes of the squarish, limp stems. The
leaves are in opposite pairs, nearly stalkless, with linear elliptic
round-tipped blades and untoothed margins. The plant sends up erect
flowering shoots in summer. The usually pink or mauve flowers have a
tube-like calyx 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.
Wild thyme is native to the
palearctic zone 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. Wild thyme is one of the
plants on which both the common blue butterfly and large blue
butterfly larvae feed and it is also attractive to bees.
Wild thyme is native to the
palearctic zone 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. Wild thyme is one of the
plants on which both the common blue butterfly and large blue
butterfly larvae feed and it is also attractive to bees.
All thyme species are nectar sources,
but wild thyme covers large areas of droughty, rocky soils in
southern Europe (both Greece and Malta are especially famous for
wild thyme honey) and North Africa, as well as in similar landscapes
in the Berkshire and Catskill Mountains of the northeastern US. The
lowest growing of the widely used thyme is good for walkways. It is
also an important caterpillar food plant for large and common blue
butterflies. |