Thymus serpyllum L.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Thymus serpyllum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/thymus/thymus-serpyllum/). Accessed 2026-03-12.

Family

  • Lamiaceae

Genus

Glossary

corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Thymus serpyllum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/thymus/thymus-serpyllum/). Accessed 2026-03-12.

An evergreen subshrub a few inches high, with trailing, rooting stems, woody at the base; younger stems wiry, hairy all round. Leaves firm, elliptic or elliptic-ovate, mostly 18 to 38 in. long and about half as wide, blunt, narrowed at the base, hairy at least on the margin, sometimes on both surfaces, prominently veined beneath, dotted with oil glands. Flowering stems erect, bearing the rosy purple flowers in summer and early autumn in dense rounded heads 12 in. wide. Corolla scarcely 14 in. long.

Native of Europe, including Britain, where it is rare, however. Our common thyme is: