THYMUS. 



Auguft. The habit of this fpccies is like the laft, but 

 with fmaJlor leaves, more confpicuous longPi--ftalkcd_^0'U'crj-, 

 and leis upright Jlans. Its fcent is diflereHt, and much 

 ftronger, refembhng Penny-royal. 



2^. Th. cephalotus. Great-headed Portugal Thyme. Linn. 

 Sp. PI. 826. Willd. n. 17. Ait. n. 9. VahlSymb. v. 3. 77. 

 «' Hoffm. ct Link Lufit. v. i. 127. t. 13." (Tragori- 

 ganum dlftaumi capite, hifpanicum ; Barrel. Ic. t. 788. 

 Bocc. Muf. 50. t. 43.) — " Heads of flowers with loofely 

 imbricated, large, coloured brafteas, dcftitute of dots. 



Leaves linear, entire Native of Spain and Portugal. A 



ilirubby bufhy plant, with purphlh^fmj, and downy branches. 

 J.ijves fringed at the bafe. Flo'uiers concealed by the 

 large purplifh braSeas, forming an ovate head. Upper lip 

 of tlie calyx rather the largell ; lower fringed. We ha\^ 

 feeii no fpecinien, either of this or the next. 



26. Th. Jlriatus. Striated Neapolitan Thyme. Vahl. 

 Symb. V. 3. 78. Willd. n. 18. — " Heads of flowers with 

 clofely imbricated, ovate, ftriated, dotted brafteas. Leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, ferrated, dotted in the margin." — Found 

 by Cyrillo, in the kingdom of Naples. T\iq Jlans are (liorter 

 and more upright than the foregoing ; not branched in their 

 upper part. Leaves broader, ereft ; ftriated at the back. 

 Heads fmaller, with fmaller green braSeas. Vahl. 



27. Th. 'uillofus. Hairy Thyme. Linn. Sp. PI. 827. 

 Willd. n. 19. Ait. n. 10. " HofFm. et Link Lufit. v. i. 

 128. t. 14." Sm. Fl. Grasc. Sibth. t. 578, unpubhihed — 

 Heads of flowers with imbricated, fringed, lanceolate, 

 ternate, keeled brafteas. Leaves lanceolate, hairy, acute. 



Stems trailing Native of Portugal, Cyprus, and the 



Archipelago. The fl;rong woody root fends out numerous, 

 decumbent, branched, rarubby_y7cmj-, which compofe ample 

 tufts, taking root as they fpread, with fliort, fimple, afceiid- 

 ing flowering branches. Leaves cluftered, nearly awl-fliaped, 

 dark green, fringed with coarfe white hairs. BraBeas and 

 eaJyx tinged with a violet purple ; the upper lip of the latter 

 oval, with three (harp teeth. Corolla rofe-coloured, with a 

 ilender hairy tube, twice the length of the calyx. Stamens 

 prominent. 



28. Th. Majlichlna. Mallick Thyme. Linn. Sp. PI. 

 S27. Willd. n. 20. Ait. n. II. (Marum ; Rivin. Monop. 

 Irr. t. 40. Ger. Em. 670.) — Whorls ftalked, many-flow- 

 crcd, crowded into round heads. Leaves ovate, obtufe, 

 entire. Calyx-teeth awl-fliaped, taper-pointed, all fringed, 

 nearly uniform. — N.itive of ftony ground in Spain and 

 Greece. Dr. Sibthorp gathered it on momit Hymettus, 

 near Athens, fo famous for honey. This plant has been 

 trcafured up in many a rultic garden, or cottage window, 

 ever fince the days of old Gerarde ; but will fcarcely bear 

 our winters unprotetled, for any length of time. It flowers 

 throughout the latter part of fummer. The figure of Ri- 

 vinus is cited by miftake, in the ufually accurate Hort. 

 Kew. for Teucrium Marum. The Jlem of the prefent fpecies 

 is Ihrubby, twelve or eighteen inches high, crcdl and bufliy, 

 with many roundirti, downy, leafy branches. Leaves nu- 

 merous, ftalked, about the fize and (hape of Th. Serpyllum, 

 but thicker, finely downy, and not fringed at the bafe ; 

 moft hoary beneath. Floiwrs white, fmall, confpicuous for 

 the long (lender teeth of the calyx, which are peClinated 

 with abundance of long briftly hairs. The tube is clofed 

 with copious white hairs, nor can we fee any foundation 

 for Linuicus's doubts, whether this plant ftiould be referred 

 to Thymus or Satureja, except the calyx-teeth being nearly 

 equal, which is the cafe, more or lefs, with fome of the 

 foregoing. The odour of Th. Majlichina is pleaiantly aro- 

 matic, not very pungent. 



Vol. XXXV. 



2(). Th.Tragorigamtm. Goat's Tliyme. Linn. Mant.84. 

 Willd. n. 21. Ait. n. 13. Turr. Farfet. 11. (Tragori- 

 gajium majus ; Alpin. Exot. 79. t. 78. T. fecunda, altera 

 fpecies; Cluf. Hift. v. !. 355. T. cretenfe ; Ger. Em. 

 668. ) — " Stem fomcwhat flirubby, ereft. Flowers whorled. 

 Leaves hifpid, pointed." — Native of hills in Crete ; as well 

 of Cypnis and Bceotia, according to Dr. Sibthorp's manu- 

 fcripts, thougli his herbarium contains no fpecimen. Neither 

 does that of Linnaeus, whofe fpccific charafter we are 

 obhged to copy. He defcribes it as a fweet-fcented plant, 

 with hairy Jlcms, a foot high ; leaves rather rigid, pointed 

 at each end. The root appears to be woody and perennial. 

 Whorls numerous, denfc, of mix\j Jlowers. 



For Th. v'irginiius, Willd. n. 22, fee Pycnanthemum, 

 n. 5. The fame author has a Th. inodorus, «. 9, adopted 

 from Desfont. Atlant. v. 2. 30. t. 129. A fpecimen ap- 

 parently anfwering to this, gathered by Thunberg at the 

 Cape of Good Hope, is preferved in the Linnsean herbarium, 

 with a note at the back adverting to the fuigularity of a 

 plant of the Didynamia Gymnofpermia having alternate 

 leaves ; and it is named Satunja alternifolia. We do not 

 find that either Linnaeus or Thunberg ever publiflied this 

 plant ; poffibly becaufc of the uncertainty of its genus ; or 

 it may be among thofe which the latter has referred in his 

 Prodromus to Selago, feveral of which we have no means of 

 determining. Whether the plant of Desfontaines be the 

 fame or no, we dare not, without examination, confider it as 

 a Thymus, though he defcribes the calyx as clofed with hairs, 

 which is certainly not the cafe with Thunberg's fpecimen. 



Thymus, in Gardening, contains plants of the low, aro- 

 matic, perennial kind ; among which the fpecies cultivated are, 

 the wild thyme (T. ferpillum) ; the garden thyme (T. 

 vulgaris) ; the maftick thyme (T. maftichina) ; and the 

 Virginian or favory thyme (T. virginicus). 



In the firft fort there are feveral varieties ; as the broad- 

 leaved, the narrow-leaved, the variegated-leaved, the filver- 

 ftriped-leaved, the citron-fcented or lemon thyme, and the 

 great purple-flowered. 



And in the common fert there are different varieties ; as 

 the broad-leaved, tlie narrow-leaved, and the variegated or 

 ftriped-leaved thyme. 



Method of Culture. — Thefe plants may be eafily raifed 

 from feed, by flipping the roots and branches, and by cut- 

 tings ; but the feed method is feldom praftifed, except with 

 the fecond fort, or garden thyme. The feed (hould be 

 fown in the early fpring on light, rich, dry ground, which 

 fliould be properly dug over, and the furface be made mo- 

 derately fmooth with the fpade. As the feed is fmall, it 

 (hould not be fown too thick, or be covered too deep : the 

 feed is beft fown while the ground is frefh ftirred, either 

 broad-caft on the furface, raking it in lightly, or in flat 

 fliallow drills, earthed over thinly : the plants appear in two 

 or three weeks. It is neceffary to be careful to keep them 

 well weeded, giving occafiond light waterings in dry 

 weather ; and by June they will require thinning, efpecially 

 if the plants are to grow ftocky, and with bufhy full heads ; 

 in which cafe they fliould be fet out to fix or eiglit inches 

 diftance ; when thofe thinned out may be planted in another 

 place, in rows fix or eight inches afunder, giving water till 

 fre(h rooted, keeping the whole clean from weed"; by occa- 

 fional hoeing between them in dry days, which will alfo ftir 

 the furface of the earth, and much improve the growth of 

 the plants : they will be in perfeftion for ufe in fuaimer, or 

 early in autumn. 



Sometimes the market kitchen-gardeners raife large quan- 

 tities in beds, for daily fupply, leaving the whole thick ; 

 4 H when 



