Short Description
The large thyme can grow up to 30 centimetres high.
The leaves are narrow, elongated-ovate and usually all the same size. They often turn dark red and have an aromatic scent. They grow on the stem opposite each other.
The stem is sharply square and hairy at the edges. It grows creeping for a short time and then ascends irregularly branched. It is woody at the base.
The flowers are pink with fused petals that form an upper and lower lip. They sit close together in cylindrical flower heads at the end of the branches.
The fruits are small, single-seeded nutlets. There are always four of them in the calyx of the flower.
Features
Large thyme
Thymus pulegioides
aromatic scent
sharp square stem
In the city
The large thyme prefers warm, sunny locations. It indicates nutrient-poor soils. In the city, it therefore often grows on neglected grasslands, embankments, rocks and stone walls and on anthills.
Fun Facts
There are several subspecies of field thyme that smell of lemon.
The fruits bear nutritious oil bodies that serve as food for ants. They are thus often spread by ants. That is why it often grows on anthills.
The strongly fragrant flowers are visited by many different insects.
The flowering period is from June to October.
It lives for several years and generally flowers and fruits annually (perennial plant).
In winter, the plant forms red protective pigments in the leaves in sunny places.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
The large thyme is native to Europe.
Its essential oils relieve respiratory diseases.
Sources
Habitus, Stefan.lefnaer, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thymus_pulegioides_subsp._pulegioides_sl2.jpg
Blütenstand, Kor!An, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thymus_pulegioides_flowering_01.JPG
Habitus, Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 2.5 , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Breitbl%C3%A4ttrige_Thymian_(Thymus_pulegioides)-1.jpg
-1.jpg){kind=link}
Kammer, P. M. (2016) Pflanzen einfach bestimmen. Schritt für Schritt einheimische Arten kennenlernen, Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Spohn, M., Golte-Bechtle, M. & Spohn, R. (2015) Was blüht denn da? Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.
Page „Breitblättriger Thymian“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 13.01.2018, 10:27 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Breitbl%C3%A4ttriger_Thymian&oldid=172870372 (Accessed: 12.04.2018).
Bundesamt für Naturschutz (n.d.) Artensteckbriefe, URL: http://floraweb.de/pflanzenarten/artenhome.xsql?suchnr=5965& (Accessed: 12.04.2018).