Thymus praecox

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Thymus praecox
Thymus praecox.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Thymus
Species:
T. praecox
Binomial name
Thymus praecox
Synonyms [1]
List
    • Thymus agoustensisFormánek
    • Thymus albanus subvar. lumbardensis(Ronniger) Diklic
    • Thymus albanus subvar. prokletijensis(Ronniger) Diklic
    • Thymus albanus subvar. schefferi(Ronniger) Diklic
    • Thymus alpicolaSchur
    • Thymus amoenusSennen
    • Thymus arcticus(Durand) Ronniger
    • Thymus balcanusBorbás
    • Thymus balcanus subvar. arnautorum(Ronniger) Diklic
    • Thymus balcanus var. micevskiiMatevski
    • Thymus bracteatus var. penyalarensis(Pau) Rivas Mart.
    • Thymus britannicusRonniger
    • Thymus caespitosusOpiz
    • Thymus caucasicusWilld. ex Ronniger
    • Thymus caucasicus subsp. grossheimii(Ronniger) Jalas
    • Thymus ceretanusSennen
    • Thymus druceiRonniger
    • Thymus drucei f. britannicus(Ronniger) Cáp
    • Thymus euxinus(Heinr.Braun) Heinr.Braun ex Klokov & Des.-Shost.
    • Thymus grossheimiiRonniger
    • Thymus hesperitesLyka
    • Thymus humifususBernh. ex Link
    • Thymus kapelae(Borbás) Dalla Torre & Sarnth.
    • Thymus kerneriBorbás
    • Thymus neglectusRonniger
    • Thymus × opiziiFerd.Weber
    • Thymus parvulusLojac.
    • Thymus polytrichusA.Kern. ex Borbás
    • Thymus polytrichus subsp. britannicus(Ronniger) Kerguélen
    • Thymus polytrichus var. britannicus(Ronniger) P.D.Sell
    • Thymus polytrichus var. drucei(Ronniger) P.D.Sell
    • Thymus polytrichus subsp. ligusticus(Briq.) Stace
    • Thymus polytrichus var. neglectus(Ronniger) P.D.Sell
    • Thymus polytrichus subsp. vallicola(Heinr.Braun) Debray ex Kerguélen
    • Thymus polytrichus var. zetlandicus(Ronniger & Druce) P.D.Sell
    • Thymus praecox subsp. arcticus(Durand) Jalas
    • Thymus praecox f. badensis(Heinr.Braun ex L.Walz) Cáp
    • Thymus praecox f. borosianus(Lyka) P.A.Schmidt ex Cap
    • Thymus praecox f. cinerosus(Lyka) Cáp
    • Thymus praecox var. grossheimii(Ronniger) Jalas
    • Thymus praecox subsp. hesperites(Lyka) Korneck
    • Thymus praecox subsp. ligusticus(Briq.) Paiva & Salgueiro
    • Thymus praecox var. medvedewii(Ronniger) Jalas
    • Thymus praecox subsp. penyalarensis(Pau) Rivas Mart., Fern.Gonz. & Sánchez Mata
    • Thymus pseudolanuginosusRonniger
    • Thymus reinegeriOpiz
    • Thymus robustusOpiz
    • Thymus sacerLacaita
    • Thymus sarntheiniiHeinr.Braun
    • Thymus serpyllum subsp. arcticus(Durand) Hyl.
    • Thymus serpyllum var. arcticusDurand
    • Thymus serpyllum subsp. BritannicusRonniger
    • Thymus serpyllum var. ligusticusBriq.
    • Thymus serpyllum var. prostratusHornem. ex Lange
    • Thymus spathulatusOpiz
    • Thymus trachselianusOpiz
    • Thymus vallicola(Heinr.Braun) Ronniger
    • Thymus vandasiiVelen.
    • Thymus widderiRonniger ex Machule
    • Thymus zetlandicusRonniger & Druce
    • Thymus zygiformis subsp. albanus(Heinr.Braun ex Wettst.) Cáp
    • Thymus zygiformis var. mirkoviciiGajic

Thymus praecox is a species of thyme. A common name is mother of thyme, [2] but "creeping thyme" and "wild thyme" may be used where Thymus serpyllum , which also shares these names, is not found. It is native to central, southern, and western Europe.

Contents

Classification

Thymus praecox is in the genus Thymus belonging to the Serpyllum section. It has sometimes been reclassified as T. polytrichus. [3]

Subspecies and cultivars

Thymus praecox subspecies and cultivars include:

Thymus praecox near Seydisfjordur, Iceland. It is known locally as blodberg, meaning "bloodstone". Thymus praecox - Iceland - 2007-07-05.jpg
Thymus praecox near Seyðisfjörður, Iceland. It is known locally as blóðberg, meaning "bloodstone".
Thymus praecox in July in Lonsoraefi, Iceland. Plant in Lonsoraefi area, Iceland.jpg
Thymus praecox in July in Lonsoraefi, Iceland.

Uses

Cultivation

Thymus praecox is cultivated as an ornamental plant, used as an evergreen groundcover in gardens and pots. When maintained at a lower height it is used between paving stones in patios and walkways. It is drought tolerant when established.

This thyme species (and Thymus serpyllum) has escaped cultivation in North America, and is a weed or invasive species in some habitats in the United States. [2]

Cuisine

This thyme has a strong scent similar to Oregano. It can be used in cuisine.

Like other species of thyme, Thymus praecox is characterized by substantial differences in essential oil composition from plant to plant. Plants which differ in this way are known as chemotypes and a geographical population will generally contain a mix of chemotypes. For example, studies of chemotypes in Greenland, Iceland, Norway, England, Scotland, and Ireland show that chemotypes span those countries rather than being geographically localized. [6] [7] Some of those areas contain greater chemotype diversity than others. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregano</span> Species of flowering plant

Oregano is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It was native to the Mediterranean region, but widely naturalised elsewhere in the temperate Northern Hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thyme</span> Herb

Thyme is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus Thymus of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Eurasia and north Africa. Thymes have culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses. The species most commonly cultivated and used for culinary purposes is Thymus vulgaris, native to SE Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thymol</span> Chemical compound found in plants including thyme

Thymol, C10H14O, is a natural monoterpenoid phenol derivative of p-Cymene, isomeric with carvacrol, found in oil of thyme, and extracted from Thymus vulgaris, ajwain, and various other plants as a white crystalline substance of a pleasant aromatic odor and strong antiseptic properties. Thymol also provides the distinctive, strong flavor of the culinary herb thyme, also produced from T. vulgaris. Thymol is only slightly soluble in water at neutral pH, but it is extremely soluble in alcohols and other organic solvents. It is also soluble in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions due to deprotonation of the phenol. Its dissociation constant (pKa) is 10.59±0.10. Thymol absorbs maximum UV radiation at 274 nm.

<i>Thymus</i> (plant) Family of shrubs

The genus Thymus 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. Thymus species are particularly concentrated in Iran, attributed to Iran's diverse climate and topographic/geographic location.

<i>Thymus serpyllum</i> Species of plant

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.

NVC community CG7 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three short-sward communities associated with heavy grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group, and is regarded as the eastern counterpart of "typical" chalk grassland.

A chemotype is a chemically distinct entity in a plant or microorganism, with differences in the composition of the secondary metabolites. Minor genetic and epigenetic changes with little or no effect on morphology or anatomy may produce large changes in the chemical phenotype. Chemotypes are often defined by the most abundant chemical produced by that individual and the concept has been useful in work done by chemical ecologists and natural product chemists. With respect to plant biology, the term "chemotype" was first coined by Rolf Santesson and his son Johan in 1968, defined as, "...chemically characterized parts of a population of morphologically indistinguishable individuals."

<i>Thymus herba-barona</i> Species of herb

Thymus herba-barona is a species of thyme native to Corsica, Sardinia, and Majorca. It is also sometimes known by the common name caraway thyme, as it has a strong scent similar to caraway, for which it can be used as a substitute in any recipe. It can be used in cuisine or as an evergreen ground cover plant for the garden.

NVC community CG2 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three short-sward communities associated with heavy grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group, and is regarded as "typical" chalk grassland.

NVC community H7 is one of the heath communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of two communities categorised as maritime heaths.

NVC community CG10 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. Of the upland group of calcicolous grasslands, it is the only one with a short sward associated with heavy grazing.

Davidiella tassiana is a fungal plant pathogen infecting several hosts, including Iris barnumiae subsp. demawendica in Iran.

<i>Thymus citriodorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Thymus citriodorus, the lemon thyme or citrus thyme, is a lemon-scented evergreen mat-forming perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. There has been a great amount of confusion over the plant's correct name and origin. Recent DNA analysis suggests that it is not a hybrid or cross, but a distinct species as it was first described in 1811., yet an analysis in a different study clustered Thymus citriodorus together with Thymus vulgaris, which is considered as one of its parent species.

<i>Thymus pseudolanuginosus</i> Species of flowering plant

Thymus pseudolanuginosus - commonly called woolly thyme - is now also classified as Thymus praecox subsp. britannicus. It was also formerly known as Thymus lanuginosus.

<i>Thymus pannonicus</i> Species of flowering plant

Thymus pannonicus, known by its common name Hungarian thyme or Eurasian thyme, is a perennial herbaceous plant, distributed in central and eastern Europe and Russia. It grows over open dry meadows, grasslands, and rocks.

<i>Scrobipalpa artemisiella</i> Species of moth

Scrobipalpa artemisiella is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is found in most of Europe, Turkey and Syria through the Caucasus and Central Asia to Irkutsk and Mongolia. It has also been recorded from North America, but this records requires confirmation.

<i>Thymus zygis</i> Species of flowering plant

Thymus zygis is a type of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae native to the Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco.

<i>Scythris picaepennis</i> Species of moth

Scythris picaepennis is a moth of the family Scythrididae first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1828. It is found in Europe.

<i>Thymus hyemalis</i> Species of plant in the family Lamiaceae

Thymus hyemalis, the winter thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, endemic to southeast Spain. Its volatile oil constituents vary seasonally.

References

  1. "Thymus praecox Opiz". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Thymus praecox". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Brickell, C. & Zuk, J., Editors-in-Chief. The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, First American Edition. (New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 1997; ISBN   0-7894-1943-2).
  4. Thymus polytrichus A. Kern. ex Borbás subsp. britannicus (Ronniger) Kerguélen and Thymus praecox Opiz subsp. arcticus (Durand) Jalas, GRIN Taxonomy for Plants
  5. 1 2 Vidic, D; Cavar, S; Solić, ME; Maksimović, M (2010), "Volatile constituents of two rare subspecies of Thymus praecox", Natural Product Communications, 5 (7): 1123–6, doi: 10.1177/1934578X1000500730 , PMID   20734955, S2CID   19358240
  6. Stahl-Biskup, E (Feb 1986), "The Essential Oil from Norwegian Thymus Species. I. Thymus praecox ssp. Arcticus", Planta Medica, 52 (1): 36–8, doi:10.1055/s-2007-969062, ISSN   0032-0943
  7. Stahl, Elisabeth (1984), "Chemical polymorphism of essential oil in Thymus praecox ssp. Arcticus (Lamiaceae) from Greenland", Nordic Journal of Botany, 4 (5): 597–600, doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.1984.tb01985.x
  8. Schmidt, A (2004), "Essential oil polymorphism of Thymus praecox subsp. Arcticus on the British Isles", Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 32 (4): 409–421, doi:10.1016/j.bse.2003.10.003