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Taxonomy

Notes:

An accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Physical Description

Family Lamiaceae:

Herbs, sometimes subshrubs or shrubs, annual or perennial, usually aromatic. Stems and branches usually 4-angled. Leaves opposite, rarely whorled or alternate, simple to pinnately dissected or compound, without stipules. Inflorescences generally compound, sometimes flowers solitary and axillary; verticillasters 2- to many flowered, subtended by leaves or bracts. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic, rarely subactinomorphic, bracteolate or not. Calyx persistent, 5-toothed, 2-lipped; upper lip 3-toothed or entire (deciduous in Scutellaria) ; lower lip 2- or 4-toothed; tube sometimes hairy annulate inside. Corolla limb usually 2-lipped; upper lip 2-lobed and lower 3-lobed, rarely upper lip entire and lower 4-lobed, also rarely limb (4- or) 5-lobed; tube hairy annulate inside. Stamens epipetalous, 4 or 2, free, rarely filaments connate, sometimes one staminodial; anther 1- or 2-celled, usually dehiscing longitudinally; disc persistent. Ovary superior, 2-celled and each cell 2-ovuled and style subterminal, or ovary 4-parted and each lobe 1-ovuled and style gynobasic (from bases of ovary lobes) with 2-cleft apex. Fruit usually 4 dry nutlets. Seeds with or without endosperm.

Approximately 3500 species in 220 genera, distributed worldwide, but mostly in the Mediterranean region and SW Asia. China has 807 species in 96 genera.^[1]

Genus Thymus:

Subshrubs with slender branches arising from usually short, sometimes stout, woody stems. Leaves entire or 1-3-serrulate. Verticillasters in dense capitula or spikes. Flowers pedicellate. Calyx tubular-campanulate to narrowly campanulate, 10-13-veined, 2-lipped, throat white hairy annulate; upper lip spreading or straight, 3-toothed, teeth triangular to lanceolate; lower lip 2-toothed, teeth subulate. Corolla tube included or exserted, 2-lipped; upper lip straight, emarginate; lower lip spreading, 3-lobed, lobes subequal or middle lobe longer. Stamens 4, separate; anterior 2 longer, exserted or included; anther cells 2, parallel or divaricate. Style apex 2-cleft; lobes subulate, equal or subequal. Nutlets ovoid or oblong, smooth.

Some botanists recognize 300-400 species in Africa, Europe, and temperate Asia; others have suggested that many of these species should be treated as infraspecific taxa of Thymus serpyllum Linnaeus. China has at least 11 species, mainly N of the Huang He.

Klokov (Fl. U.S.S.R. 21: 471. 1954) reported that fertile hybrids are common in areas of overlap between some species.^[2]

Similar Species

Members of the genus Thymus:

There are approximately 1,175 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: T. atlanticus ayachicus · T. atlanticus subayachicus · T. funkii sabulicola · T. hyemalis saxicola · T. leptophyllus paui · T. munbyanus abylaeus · T. praecox ligusticus · T. pulcherrimus sudeticus · T. pulegioides similialpestris · T. richardii nitidus · T. 'Alan Bloom' · T. 'Albus' · T. 'Anderson's Gold' · T. 'Aureus variegatus' (Golden Lemon Thyme) · T. 'Aureus' · T. 'Belle Orchard' · T. 'Blush' · T. 'By The Step' · T. 'Caborn Lilac Gem' · T. 'Caborn Pink Carpet' · T. 'Caborn Purple Haze' · T. 'Caborn Rosanne' · T. 'Carol Ann' · T. 'Caroline' · T. 'Carshalton' · T. 'Coccineus Major' · T. 'Coccineus' · T. 'Cow Green' · T. 'Creeping Lemon' · T. 'Creeping Mauve' · T. 'Creeping Orange' · T. 'Dark Eyes' · T. 'Dartmoor' · T. 'Desboro' · T. 'Doone Valley' · T. 'Duftkissen' · T. 'E.B. Anderson' · T. 'Eastgrove Pink' · T. 'Elf' · T. 'Emma's Pink' · T. 'Fragrantissimus' (Orange Thyme) · T. 'Gibson's Cave' · T. 'Glenridding' · T. 'Golden Icing' · T. 'Goldie' · T. 'Gowbarrow' · T. 'Gratian' · T. 'Hamada' · T. 'Hans Stam' · T. 'Hardstoft Red' · T. 'Hartington Silver' (Creeping Thyme) · T. 'Highdown Adus' · T. 'Highdown Lemon' · T. 'Highdown Red' · T. 'Highdown Stretham' · T. 'Highdown' · T. 'Highland Cream' · T. 'Lake District' · T. 'Lantanii' · T. 'Lavender Sea' · T. 'Lemon Caraway' · T. 'Lemon Sorbet' · T. 'Lemon Variegated' · T. 'Lilac Time' · T. 'Lime' (Lime Thyme) · T. 'Longwood' (Longwood Wooly Thyme) · T. 'Low Force' · T. 'Moonlight' (Thyme) · T. 'Mountain Select' · T. 'New Hall' · T. 'Onyx' · T. 'Orange Balsam' · T. 'Orange Spice' · T. 'Pat Milne' · T. 'Peter Davis' · T. 'Pink Ripple' (Pink Ripple Thyme) · T. 'Pinkushion' · T. 'Porlock' (Thyme) · T. 'Provencale' · T. 'Provence' · T. 'Rasta' · T. 'Redstart' · T. 'Rosa Ceeping' · T. 'Rosalicht' · T. 'Rosalind' · T. 'Rosedrift' · T. 'Rosemary's Lemon Carpet' · T. 'Roseum' · T. 'Ruby Glow' · T. 'Silver Posie' · T. 'Silver Rose' · T. 'Snowdonia Idris' · T. 'Snowdonia Ifor' · T. 'Snowdonia Imperial Beauty' · T. 'Snowdonia Iorwerth' · T. 'Snowdonia Isolde' · T. 'Snowdonia Istyn' · T. 'Snowdonia Lass' · T. 'Snowdonia Pearl' · T. 'Snowdonia Pedr'

Bibliography

• Wu Cheng-yih & Li Hsi-wen, eds. 1977. Labiatae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 65(2): 1-649, 66: 1-647.

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Notes

Identifiers:

• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1810360

Footnotes:

1. Xi-wen Li & Ian C. Hedge "Lamiaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 17 Page 50. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
2. "Thymus". in Flora of China Vol. 17 Page 233. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.