Thyme
Manor Nursery, Angmering, West Sussex.
The genus Thymus contains about 350 species of aromatic perennial herbaceous plants and subshrubs in the family Lamiaceae, native to temperate regions in Europe, North Africa and Asia.
Several members of the genus are cultivated as culinary herbs or ornamentals, when they are also called thyme after its best-known species, Thymus vulgaris.
Thyme adds a distinctive aromatic flavoring to sauces, stews, stuffings, meats, poultry - almost anything from soup to salad. In medieval times, the plant symbolized courage, and to keep up their spirits, knights departing for the Crusades received scarves embroidered with a sprig of thyme from their ladies. There was a popular belief, too, that a leaf tea prevented nightmares, while another held that tea made of thyme and other herbs enabled one to see nymphs and fairies. Herbalists of the Middle Ages regarded thyme as a stimulant and antispasmodic, and recommended sleeping on thyme and inhaling it as a remedy for melancholy and epilepsy.
In 1725, a German apothecary discovered that the plant's essential oil contains a powerful disinfectant called thymol that is effective against bacteria and fungi. Thymol also acts as a expectorant, loosening phlegm in the respiratory tract. Later herbalists listed thyme for these uses and as remedy for numerous other complaints, including diarrhoea and fever. They prescribed the oil externally as an antiseptic for fungal infections such as athlete's foot.
Butterflies and bees absolutely love the flowers of thyme.
Thyme
Manor Nursery, Angmering, West Sussex.
The genus Thymus contains about 350 species of aromatic perennial herbaceous plants and subshrubs in the family Lamiaceae, native to temperate regions in Europe, North Africa and Asia.
Several members of the genus are cultivated as culinary herbs or ornamentals, when they are also called thyme after its best-known species, Thymus vulgaris.
Thyme adds a distinctive aromatic flavoring to sauces, stews, stuffings, meats, poultry - almost anything from soup to salad. In medieval times, the plant symbolized courage, and to keep up their spirits, knights departing for the Crusades received scarves embroidered with a sprig of thyme from their ladies. There was a popular belief, too, that a leaf tea prevented nightmares, while another held that tea made of thyme and other herbs enabled one to see nymphs and fairies. Herbalists of the Middle Ages regarded thyme as a stimulant and antispasmodic, and recommended sleeping on thyme and inhaling it as a remedy for melancholy and epilepsy.
In 1725, a German apothecary discovered that the plant's essential oil contains a powerful disinfectant called thymol that is effective against bacteria and fungi. Thymol also acts as a expectorant, loosening phlegm in the respiratory tract. Later herbalists listed thyme for these uses and as remedy for numerous other complaints, including diarrhoea and fever. They prescribed the oil externally as an antiseptic for fungal infections such as athlete's foot.
Butterflies and bees absolutely love the flowers of thyme.