It is composed of a woody stem with paired leaf or flower clusters ("leaves") spaced ½ to 1" apart. A sprig is a single stem snipped from the plant. While summer-seasonal, fresh thyme is often available year-round.įresh thyme is commonly sold in bunches of sprigs. The fresh form is more flavourful but also less convenient storage life is rarely more than a week. In some Middle Eastern countries, the condiment za'atar contains thyme as a vital ingredient. In French cuisine, along with bay and parsley it is a common component of the bouquet garni, and of herbes de Provence. Thyme, while flavourful, does not overpower and blends well with other herbs and spices. It has a particular affinity to and is often used as a primary flavour with lamb, tomatoes and eggs. Thyme is often used to flavour meats, soups and stews. It is also widely used in Lebanese and Caribbean cuisines. Thyme is a basic ingredient in Spanish, French, Italian, and Turkish cuisines, and in those derived from them. Thyme retains its flavour on drying better than many other herbs. It can be propagated by seed, cuttings, or by dividing rooted sections of the plant. It is planted in the spring and thereafter grows as a perennial. Thyme likes a hot sunny location with good-draining soil. Thyme is widely cultivated as it was grown for its strong flavour, which is due to its content of thymol. Thyme was also used as incense and placed on coffins during funerals as it was supposed to assure passage into the next life. In this period, women would also often give knights and warriors gifts that included thyme leaves as it was believed to bring courage to the bearer. In the European Middle Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off nightmares. It was thought that the spread of thyme throughout Europe was thanks to the Romans, as they used it to purify their rooms. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing that thyme was a source of courage. struella (the latter three feed exclusively on Thymus).Īncient Egyptians used thyme in embalming. Thymus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera insect species including Chionodes distinctella and the Coleophora case-bearers C. The flowers are in dense terminal heads, with an uneven calyx, with the upper lip three-lobed, and the lower cleft the corolla is tubular, 4-10 mm long, and white, pink or purple. The stems tend to be narrow or even wiry the leaves are evergreen in most species, arranged in opposite pairs, oval, entire, and small, 4-20 mm long. A number of species have different chemotypes. Thyme ( Thymus) Pronounced ˈtīm also ˈthīm (source - Merriam-Webster & Encyclopedia Britannica) is a genus of about 350 species of aromatic perennial herbaceous plants and sub-shrubs to 40 cm tall, in the family Lamiaceae and native to Europe, North Africa and Asia. About 350 species, including: Thymus adamovicii Thymus altaicus Thymus amurensis Thymus bracteosus Thymus broussonetii Thymus caespititius Thymus camphoratus Thymus capitatus Thymus capitellatus Thymus camphoratus Thymus carnosus Thymus cephalotus Thymus cherlerioides Thymus ciliatus Thymus cilicicus Thymus cimicinus Thymus comosus Thymus comptus Thymus curtus Thymus disjunctus Thymus doerfleri Thymus glabrescens Thymus herba-barona Thymus hirsutus Thymus hyemalis Thymus inaequalis Thymus integer Thymus lanuginosus Thymus leucotrichus Thymus longicaulis Thymus longiflorus Thymus mandschuricus Thymus marschallianus Thymus mastichina Thymus membranaceus Thymus mongolicus Thymus montanus Thymus moroderi Thymus nervulosus Thymus nummularis Thymus odoratissimus Thymus pallasianus Thymus pannonicus Thymus praecox Thymus proximus Thymus pseudolanuginosus Thymus pulegioides Thymus quinquecostatus Thymus richardii Thymus serpyllum Thymus striatus Thymus thracicus Thymus villosus Thymus vulgaris Thymus zygis
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