Origanum. — Thymus. 821 
Bracts ovate, about the length of the calyx. Calyx very hairy in- 
side the mouth, with short, nearly equal teeth. Corolla twice as 
long as the calyx, with 4 broad, nearly equal lobes, of which the 
upper one is broader and nearly erect. The two longest stamens, 
and sometimes all four, project beyond the corolla. — Flow. all the 
year round. 
M. ma. M. p. N. d. N.f. N. v. O. D. a. sept. D. a. mer. Culti- 
vated everywhere in gardens and often naturalized. 
Local name: mardaqtsh; bardaqitesh. 
Origin incertain; as a potherb widely distributed through Europe and Asia. 
469. (6.) Thymus Tourn. 
Low, much branched, spreading or procumbent undershrubs er 
herbs with small leaves, usually entire, and flowers in terminal leafy 
heads or loose spikes. Calyx 2-lipped; the upper lip 3-toothed, the 
lower 2-cleft, the mouth closed with hairs after flowering. Corolla 
with the upper lip erect, nearly flat; the lower spreading, broadly 
3-lobed. Stamens (when perfect) 4, the lower. ones diverging, as 
long as or longer than the corolla. 
A genus of several species, chiefly from the Mediterranean region and 
central Asia, where they are very variable and difficult to determine. In 
northern Africa, however, there are but a few species wild. The garden - 
Thyme, cultivated as a potherb, is T. vulgaris, from southern Europe. 
A. Calyx terete, corolla included or scarcely exserted . . IT. Bovei. 
B. Calyx flattened, 2-edged. Corolla exserted .... . T. capitatus. 
1150. (1.) Thymus Bovei Benth. in DC. Prodrom. XII (1848), 
p. 203. — Aschers.-Schweinf. Il. Flor. d’Eg., p.121 no. 820. — 
Sickenberg. Contrib. Flor. d’Eg., p. 267. — Thymus Serpyllum 4 
angustifolius Boiss. Flor. Or. IV, p.556. — Thymus argaeus Boiss. 
and Bal. Diagn. Plant. Or., Ser. Il fase. IV p.7. — Stems procum- 
bent, slender, very much branched, perennial, and hard but scarcely 
woody at the base, forming low dense tufts, from a few cm to 
near 40 cm in diameter, and often almost covered with the purple 
flowers. Leaves very small, linear-oblong or oblong, fringed at the 
base by a very few long hairs on each side; the floral leaves similar 
but smaller. Flowers usually 6 in the whorl, without any other 
bracts than the floral leaves, forming short, terminal, loose, leafy 
spikes. Calyx usually hairy, and the whole plant sometimes covered 
with short, rather stiff, hoary hairs. — Flow. March to April. 
D. i. Between Suez and Gaza. — D. a. sept. Suez; Galala. 
Local name: sa’atar. 
Also known from Greece, Arabia, Petraea and Palestine. 
