# wild thyme

*Thymus serpyllum*

In European folklore, patches of wild thyme were often believed to be the preferred dancing floors of fairies.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Lamiales › Lamiaceae › Thymus
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Dry, sandy, or rocky grasslands, heaths, and coastal dunes with high sun exposure.
- **Diet:** Photosynthetic (Autotroph)
- **Range:** Europe, Northern Asia, North America (introduced)
- **Size:** 2-10 cm tall; spreads into dense mats up to 50 cm in diameter.
- **Lifespan:** 3-10 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat fragmentation, agricultural intensification, and the overgrowth of scrubland due to lack of grazing.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless and aromatic. Safe to touch; the plant is resilient to light trampling. If foraging for culinary use, ensure the site is free of pesticides and harvest sparingly to allow for regrowth.

## About

Thymus serpyllum , known by the common names of Breckland thyme , Breckland wild thyme , wild thyme , creeping thyme , or elfin thyme , is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to most of Europe and North Africa. It is a low, usually prostrate subshrub growing to 2 cm (1 in) tall with creeping stems up to 10 cm (4 in) long. The oval evergreen leaves are 3–8 mm long. The strongly scented flowers are either lilac, pink-purple, magenta, or...

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/062d43cd-4ae3-4b3d-bcf8-8ed8942d7015
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/322051
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thymus serpyllum
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/406431512/medium.jpeg (Michal Honskus, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.