Wild Thyme (Thymus Pulegioides) - Wild Thyme (also known as lemon thyme, larger thyme, and broad-leaf thyme) is a fragrant, spreading perennial that is native to northwest Europe.

Plants form dense mats that create an excellent ground-cover.

Plants are 6-12 inches tall, and the lavender flowers appear just above the foliage.

As with many species in the mint family, the flowers of Wild Thyme are very attractive to honey bees and wild bees.

Parts of the Wild Thyme flower are used medicinally. It can be taken to treat respiratory problems such as coughs, bronchitis, and swollen airways.

It has also been used to treat kidney and bladder problems, poor blood circulation, bad cholesterol, and colic.

Wild thyme is one of the plants on which both the common blue butterfly and large blue butterfly larvae feed and it is also attractive to bees

Wild thyme is a creeping dwarf evergreen shrub with woody stems and a taproot. It forms matlike plants that root from the nodes of the squarish, limp stems. The leaves are in opposite pairs, nearly stalkless, with linear elliptic round-tipped blades and untoothed margins. The plant sends up erect flowering shoots in summer. The usually pink or mauve flowers have a tube-like calyx and an irregular straight-tubed, hairy corolla. The upper petal is notched and the lower one is larger than the two lateral petals and has three flattened lobes which form a lip. Each flower has four projecting stamens and two fused carpels. The fruit is a dry, four-chambered schizocarp.

FAST FACTS

Groundcover
Season: Perennial
USDA Zones: 3 - 9
Height: 6 - 12 inches
Bloom Season: Summer
Bloom Color: Purple
Growth Rate: Moderate
Environment: Full sun to partial shade
Foot Traffic: LIght
Deer Resistant: Yes
Latin Name: Thymus Pulegioides