Thymus | |
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Thymus camphoratus | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Lamiaceae |
Subfamily: | Nepetoideae |
Tribe: | Mentheae |
Genus: | Thymus L.[1] |
Type species | |
Thymus vulgaris L.
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Synonyms[2] | |
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The genus Thymus (/ˈtaɪməs/ TY-məs;[3] thymes) contains about 350[4] species of aromatic perennial herbaceous plants and subshrubs up to 40 cm tall in the family Lamiaceae, native to temperate regions in Europe, North Africa and Asia. Thymus species are particularly concentrated in Iran, attributed to Iran's diverse climate and topographic/geographic location.[5]
Thyme is packed with phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals.[6] Thyme species such as T. fedtschenkoi, T. pubescens, and T. transcaucasicus have large amounts of the essential oils thymol and carvacrol.[7] These Thymus species are used for herbal tea, spice, and medicine.[7] The therapeutic effect of thyme is largely attributed to these essential oils belonging to the terpenoids family.[8] Thyme is considered amongst the most consequential medicinal plants due to its substantial amount of bioactive compounds.[9] Thyme has been used to treat diabetes, cold and chest infections, and coughs.[10] Thymus quinquecostatus Celak is an example of a Thyme species present in Korea.[11] In conventional Korean medicine, Thymus quinquecostatus Celak has been used to treat cancer, hepatic disease, and constipation.[12]
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, and are 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 butterfly and moth insect species, including Chionodes distinctella and the Coleophora case-bearers C. lixella, C. niveicostella, C. serpylletorum, and C. struella (the last three feed exclusively on Thymus).
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