Thyme
Parts Usually Used
Berries, fruits, leaves, and flowers
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Thyme has numerous woody stems 6-10 inches high, covered in fine hair, and flattish round leaves, growing in pairs. The flowers, small bluish-purple, two-lipped, are borne in whorled in dense, head-like clusters, blooming fro May to September, like the rest of the plant, are heavily scented. This herb has been cultivated for centuries for both medicine and cookery. There are many varieties of thyme from ground covers to shrubby plants a foot or more high: creeping thyme (T.
praecox), lemon thyme (T. citriodorus), orange blossom thyme (T x citriodorus orange blossom), (T. glabrescens), (T. mastichina), mother-of-thyme (T. praecox subsp. arcticus), woolly thyme (T. psudolanuginosus), wild thyme (T. serpyllum), argenteus, aureus, T. herba-barona, Spanish thyme (T. zygis), etc. All thymes require full sun and fairly dry, light, well-drained soil. Basil thyme (Acinos thymoides).
Thyme tends to rob the soil of nutrients.
Where Found
Thyme grows wild on dry banks and heaths. Grows wild on hillsides in Greece and throughout the Mediterranean, Europe and the British Isles.
Medicinal Properties
Anthelmitic, antispasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic, expectorant, sedative.
Biochemical Information
Borneol, cavacrol, fluorine, gum, trace minerals, bitter principle, saponins, flavonoids, essential oils, tannins, triterpenic acids, and vitamins B-complex, C, and D.
Legends, Myths and Stories
An oil in thyme was once a standard ingredient of most antiseptic lotions and commercial disinfectants, mouthwashes and toothpastes. Around 3000 BC the Sumerians were using it as a medicinal ingredient, and the Egyptians included it among the herbs and spices used in mummification. The Greeks used thyme as a temple incense (the word thyme comes from a Greek word meaning “to fumigate”, and both they and the Romans praised its healing virtues.
During the Middle Ages thyme was considered a symbol of courage, and knights rode into battle wearing scarves on which their ladies had embroidered sprigs of the herb. A Biblical association with thyme is the Christ-child’s manger, Christian tradition holds with good cause that thyme was among the 3 or 4 herbs upon which Mary and the Child bedded in Bethlehem of Judea, and so it has become an herb to be in the gardens of churches and monasteries.
Uses
Historically, herbalists utilized thyme for respiratory complaints, including coughs, asthma, colds, flu, bronchitis, sinusitis, and sore throats, believing it helped reduce mucus. Traditional practitioners also administered infusions of the herb as a digestive aid, a liver tonic, and a means to manage gas, fevers, headaches, and loss of appetite, while also claiming it could lower cholesterol levels.
Folk traditions employed external preparations, such as leaf poultices and salves, for sprains, strains, bruises, swellings, athlete's foot, and shingles, as well as for parasites such as lice, scabies, and hookworms. Thyme baths were historically recommended for rheumatic complaints and halitosis. In companion planting traditions, gardeners grew thyme alongside eggplants, tomatoes, and potatoes to assist their growth, while also utilizing the plant to attract bees and repel insects and moths.
How Sold
Sold commercially as a spice.
Warning
Use sparingly. Do not make a habit of using thyme. Avoid therapeutic doses of thyme and thyme oil in any form during pregnancy because the herb is a uterine stimulant. Thyme oil can irritate mucous membranes. Always dilute it well if used. Excessive internal use of thyme can lead to symptoms of poisoning and to overstimulation of the thyroid gland. Use caution.
Bibliography
The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. , Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A.
, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England.
, Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements , by James F. D. and Phyllis A. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.
Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974 Country Home Book of Herbs , Meredith Books, Editorial Dept. RW240, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023, copyright 1994 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. The Healing Plants , by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.
, Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992