Thefe plants are propagated by feeds, which mould be 
iown in the fpring on a bed of light earth, where, if 
the feeds are good, the plants will appear in about fix 
or eight weeks. When they come up they muft be 
kept clean from weeds, and in July they will be fit to 
remove, at which time part of them fhould be planted 
in fmall pots ; and the other may be planted in a warm 
border of dry ground, being careful to fhade them 
from the fun, and fupply them with water till they 
have taken new root ; after which, thofe in the full 
ground will require no other care but to keep them 
clean from weeds-, and, if the winter fhould prove 
very fevere, they fhould be covered with mats, or fome 
other covering to protedt them, for the young plants 
are in greater danger of being deftroyed than thofe 
which are older. Thofe plants in the pots fhould be 
fheltered under a common frame in winter, v/here 
they may enjoy the free air in mild weather, and be 
protected from hard froft. 
Thefe plants will live in the open air in England un- 
lefs the winters prove very fevere, efpecially if they 
are planted in a poor, dry, flony foil. 
THYMELfEA. See Daphne and Passerina. 
THYMUS. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 196. tab. 93. Lin. 
Gen. Plant. 646. [fo called of ©ui^, odour, becaufe 
a very odorous plant ; or of Qvflog, animal fpirit, be- 
caufe good in reviving the fame.] Thyme. 
The Characters are, 
The flower has a ■permanent empalement of one leaf di- 
vided into two lips , whofe chaps are hairy and flout. 
The upper lip is broad , plain , erebt, and indented in 
three parts \ the under lip ends in two equal briftles. The 
flower is of the lip kind •, it has one petal , with a tube the 
length of the empalement. The chaps are fmall •, the upper 
lip is Jfoort , erebt, obtufe , and indented at the point the 
■lower lip is long, broad , and divided into three parts, the 
■middle fegment being broadeft. It has four incurved fta- 
mina, two being longer than the other , terminated by fmall 
flamina and a four-pointed germen fupporting a Jlender 
■ flyle, crowned by a bifid acute fligma. The germen after- 
ward turn to four fmall roundifh feeds ripening in the 
empalement , whofe neck is narrowed. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft feftion of 
Linnteus’s fourteenth clafs, which contains thpfe 
plants whofe flowers have four ftamina, two of them 
being longer than the other, and the feeds ripen in 
the empalement. 
The Species are, 
1. Thymus {Vulgaris) eredtus, foliis revolutis ovatis, flo- 
ribus verticillato-fpicatis. Hort. Cliff. 305. Upright 
Thyme with oval leaves which turn backward, and flowers 
growing in whorled fpikes. Thymus vulgaris, folio la- 
tiore. C. B. P.219. Common broad-leaved Thyme. 
2. Thymus (Tenuifolius) foliis lineari-lanceolatis incanis, 
fioribus verticillato-fpicatis. Thyme with linear , fpear- 
fhaped, hoary leaves, and flowers growing in whorled 
fpikes. Thymus vulgaris, folio tenuiore. C. B. P. 
219. Common Thyme with narrow leaves. 
3. Thymus ( Cephalotos ) capitulis imbricatis magnis, 
brabteis ovatis, foliis lanceolatis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 592. 
Thyme with large imbricated heads , oval brabiea, and 
fpear-fhaped leaves. Thymus Lufitanicus cephalotos, 
iquamis capitulorum amplioribus. Tourn. Inft. 126. 
Portugal Thyme with large heads, having very large fcales. 
4. Thymus ( Villofus ) capitulis imbricatis magnis, brac- 
teis dentatis, foliis fetaceis pilofis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 592. 
Thyme with large imbricated heads , indented brabiaa , and 
briftly hairy leaves. Thymus Lufitanicus, folio capil- 
laceo villofo, capite magno purpurafcente oblongo. 
Tourn. Inft. 196. Portugal Thyme with a hairy narrow 
leaf, and a large, oblong, purplifh head. 
5. Thymus ( Serpyllum ) fioribus capitatis, caulibus de- 
cumbentibus, foliis planis obtufis baft ciliatis. Flor. 
Suec. 477. Thyme with flowers growing in heads , trailing 
fialks , and plain obtufe leaves. Serpyllum latifolium hir 
futum. C. B. P.220. Broad-leaved hairy Mother of Thyme. 
6 . Thymus (Glabrus) fioribus capitatis, caulibus de- 
cumbentibus foliis lanceolatis glabris. Thyme with 
flowers growing in heads, trailing ftalks , and fmooth 
fpear-fhaped leaves. Serpyllum vulgare majus, flore 
ptirpureo. C. B. P. 220. Common greater Mother of 
Thyme , with a purple flower. 
7. Thymus ( Ovatus ) caulibus decumbentibus, foliis 
ovatis glabris, fioribus verticillato-fpicatis. Thyme with 
ftrong trailing ftalks, oval fnooth leaves , and flowers 
growing in whorled fpikes. Serpyllum vulgare majus 
flore minore. Bot. Par. 183. Common greater Mother of 
Thyme, with a / mailer flower. 
8. Thymus ( [Lanuginofus ) caulibus decumbentibus, fo- 
liis ovato lanceolatis rigidis lanuginofis, fioribus capi- 
tatis. Thyme with creeping fialks, oval, fpear-floaped, ftiftf 
leaves , which are downy , and flowers growing in heads . 
Serpyllum faxatile, hirfutum, Thymi folium nanum, 
flore pupureo. Bot. Par. 183. Hairy Rock Mother of 
Thyme, having a dwarf Thyme leaf and a purple flower. 
9. Thymus ( Odoratifjimus ) caulibus decumbentibus, fo- 
liis lineari-lanceolatis glabris, fioribus alaribus termi- 
nalibufque. Thyme with trailing ftalks, linear , fpear- 
fhaped, fmooth leaves, and flowers growing at the wings 
and tops of the ftalks. Serpyllum odoratiffimum gla- 
brum, longiore anguftioreque folio. Amman. Smooth 
fweet-fcented Mother of Thy me, with a longer and narrower 
leaf. 
The firft fort is the common Thyme, which is culti- 
vated in the gardens for the kitchen, and alfo for medi- 
cine. This grows naturally on ftony rocky places in 
the fouth of France, in Spain and Italy, and is fo well 
known here as to need no defeription. 
This plant may be propagated either by feeds or 
parting the roots ; the feafon for either is in March 
or October. If it is propagated by feeds, they fhould 
be fown upon a bed of light earth, obferving not to 
bury the feeds too deep, which will caufe them to rot, 
nor to fow them too thick, for the feeds are very 
fmall. When the plants are come up, they fhould be 
carefully cleared from weeds j and if the fpring fhould 
prove dry, and they are watered twice a week, it will 
greatly promote their growth. In June the plants 
fhould be thinned, leaving them about fix inches 
afunder each way, that they may have room to fpread ; 
and thofe plants which are drawn out may be tranf- 
planted into frefh beds at the fame diftance, obferving 
to water them until they have taken root ; after which 
they will require no farther care but to keep them 
clear from weeds, and the winter following they may 
be drawn up for ufe. 
But if the plants are propagated by parting their 
roots, the old plants fhould be taken up at the times 
before-mentioned, and flipped into as many parts as 
can be taken off the root ; thefe fhould be transplanted 
into beds of frefh light earth, at fix or eight inches 
diftance, obferving, if the feafon is dry, to water them 
until they have raken root, after which they muft be 
duly weeded, and they will thrive, and foon be fit for 
ufe. 
In order to fave the feeds of thefe plants, fome of 
the old roots fhould remain unremoved in the place 
where they were fown the preceding year ; thefe will 
flower in June, and in July the feeds will ripen, which 
muft be taken as foon as it is ripe, and beat out, 
otherwife the firft rain will wafh it all out of the hufks. 
Thefe plants root greatly in the ground, and thereby 
draw out the goodnefs of the foil fooner than moir 
other plants -, fo that whatever is fown or planted 
upon a fpot of ground whereon Thyme grew the 
preceding year, will feldom thrive, unlefs the ground 
be trenched deeper than the Thyme rooted, and well 
dunged. 
If this plant grows upon walls, or on dry, poor, ftony 
land, it will endure the greateft cold of this country j 
but in rich ground where the plants grow vigorufly, 
they are fometimes deftroyed by fevere froft. 
There is a variety of this with variegated leaves, which 
is by fome preferved in their gardens. 
The fecond fort has fhorter ftalks, the leaves are 
longer, narrower, and end in fharper points than the 
firft, and the whole plant is hoary. The flowers grow 
in long whorled fpikes, and are larger than thofe of 
the common Thyme. This may be propagated and 
treated in the fame way as the firft fort. 
The 
