Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Wild thyme
Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum) is a species of thyme native to most of Europe. It is a low, usually prostrate subshrub growing to 2 cm tall with creeping stems up to 10 cm long, with oval evergreen leaves 3-8 mm long. The flowers are pink-purple, strongly scented, 4-6 mm long, produced in clusters of several together.
Uses
It is a source of oil of Serpolet by distillation, and is used in herbal medicine. The dried leaves are used for an herbal tea.
It is an important nectar source plant for honeybees. All thyme species are nectar sources, but wild thyme covers large areas of droughty, rocky soils in southern Europe (Greece is especially famous for wild thyme honey), as well as in areas where it is naturalized in North America and New Zealand, such as the Berkshire Mountains and Catskill Mountains of the northeastern United States.
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