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Thymus pulegioides

Table of Contents

Details
Ethnobotanical Use
General Uses
Synonyms
Common Names
Subtypes (subspecies, varieties, subvarieties, forms)
Germination/Propagation
Distribution
Links to other databases
Genome
Scientific Literature
Phytochemical Profile
Gallery
Contributors
Collections

Details Top

Internal ID UUID643fef504f1a6329066482
Scientific name Thymus pulegioides
Authority L.
First published in Sp. Pl. : 592 (1753)

Ethnobotanical Use Top

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General Uses Top

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**Common products:**
The primary commercial product derived from *Thymus pulegioides* is its essential oil, extracted from fresh leaves and flowering tops via steam distillation. This oil is used as a natural flavoring agent and fragrance component.

**Food and beverages (non-medicinal):**
Fresh or dried aerial parts (leaves and flowering tops) are used as a culinary herb, providing a warm, lemony thyme-like flavor in processed foods such as soups, sauces, poultry, and vegetable dishes. It serves as a natural flavoring in spice blends, condiments, and seasonings. Essential oil or oleoresin may be used in specific processed food applications requiring standardized flavor intensity.

**Fragrance and cosmetics:**
The essential oil is incorporated into fragrance compositions for soaps, detergents, and perfumery. Its antioxidant and aromatic properties support its use in cosmetic formulations, including creams, lotions, and toiletries, primarily as a fragrance and preservative component. Natural extracts may also be used in oral care products (e.g., mouthwashes) solely for flavor/antimicrobial effects in cleaning products.

**Properties relevant to use:**
The essential oil's utility is driven by its high thymol and carvacrol content (comprising a significant proportion of the oil profile, typically exceeding 60% in some chemotypes). These monoterpenic phenols provide potent antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, enhancing preservative function and stability. Thymol contributes significant antioxidant capacity. Volatility supports fragrance application, while lipophilicity aids incorporation into lipid-based cosmetic systems.

**Standards and regulation:**
The essential oil must comply with international flavor and fragrance standards (e.g., ISO 14715 for thyme oil specifications), and its use in food is governed by flavoring regulations (e.g., EU Flavouring Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, US FDA 21 CFR 172.510). Cosmetic use follows global cosmetic regulations (e.g., EU Cosmetic Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, IFRA Standards). Wild-harvested material may be subject to sustainability regulations (e.g., CITES Appendix II, EU Regulation 2017/137).

**Sustainability and sourcing:**
Commercial supply largely relies on wild-harvesting across Europe, raising conservation concerns. Sustainable harvesting practices and monitoring of wild populations are necessary. Cultivation offers an alternative, but yields are often lower than *T. vulgaris*. It is not classified as endangered, but local depletion is possible. Foraged material must comply with regional foraging regulations.

Synonyms Top

Scientific name Authority First published in
Thymus jaquetianus (Ronniger) Debray Fl. Descr. Illustr. France Suppl. 4: 398. 1977 (1977)
Thymus parvifolius Opiz ex Déségl. Observ. Thym. Opiz. : 10 (1882)
Thymus pulegioides var. jaquetianus Ronniger Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 31: 133. 1931
Thymus pulegioides subsp. ucrainicus Klokov & Des.-Shost. Visn. Kyyivs'koho Bot. Sadu 16: 82. 1932 (1932)
Thymus rochelianus Čelak. Flora 65: 563. 1882
Thymus serpyllum var. adscendens Wimm. & Grab. Fl. Siles. 2(1): 163 1829
Thymus serpyllum f. halensis Lyka Ill. Fl. Mitt.-Eur. 5: 2323 1927
Thymus serpyllum subsp. viridis Čelak. Prodr. Fl. Böhmen 2: 347. 1871 (1871)
Thymus sylvestris Schreb. Fl. Erlang. 2: 17 (1811)
Thymus chamaedrys var. glabratus (Hoffmanns. & Link) Lange Prodr. Fl. Hispan. 2: 404. 1868
Thymus chamaedrys var. rochelianus (Celak.) Nyman Consp. Fl. Eur. Suppl. 2: 257. 1890
Thymus serpyllum subsp. chamaedrys (Fr.) Schübl. & G.Martens Fl. Würtemberg 376. 1834 (1834)
Thymus serpyllum var. ovatus (Mill.) Briq. Neue Denkschr. Allg. Schweiz. Ges. Gesammten Naturwiss. 34: 449 1895
Thymus serpyllum var. parviflorus Becker Fl. Frankfurt 1: 237. 1827
Thymus serpyllum var. parvifolius (Opiz ex Borbás) Briq. Neue Denkschr. Allg. Schweiz. Ges. Gesammten Naturwiss. 34: 450. 1895
Thymus serpyllum f. parvifolius (Opiz ex Borbás) Lyka Magyar Fl. 899 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. ovatus (Mill.) Lyka Magyar Fl. 901 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. glaber (Mill.) Lyka Magyar Fl. 901 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. noricus Lyka Magyar Fl. 901 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. pallens (Opiz ex Déségl.) Lyka Magyar Fl. 901 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. elatior Lyka Magyar Fl. 901 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. sylvestris Lyka Magyar Fl. 901 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. conglomeratus Lyka Magyar Fl. 902 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. csatoi Lyka Magyar Fl. 902 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. procerus Lyka Magyar Fl. 902 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. porcii (Borbás) Lyka Magyar Fl. 902 1925
Thymus serpyllum f. rochelianus (Celak.) Lyka Magyar Fl. 903 1925
Thymus porcii f. juranyianus (Borbás) Gusul. in Fl. Republ. Social. Román. 8: 333 1963
Thymus serpyllum var. glaber (Mill.) Lyka Ill. Fl. Mitt.-Eur. 5: 2324 1927
Thymus serpyllum var. miedeanus Lyka Ill. Fl. Mitt.-Eur. 5: 2324. 1927
Thymus serpyllum var. helveticus Lyka Ill. Fl. Mitt.-Eur. 5: 2325. 1927
Thymus serpyllum var. minutus Lyka Ill. Fl. Mitt.-Eur. 5: 2325. 1927
Thymus serpyllum var. pallens (Opiz ex Déségl.) Lyka Ill. Fl. Mitt.-Eur. 5: 2325 1927
Thymus serpyllum var. conglomeratus (Lyka) Lyka Ill. Fl. Mitt.-Eur. 5: 2325 1927
Thymus serpyllum subsp. ovatus (Mill.) Briq. Lab. Alp. Mar. 547 1895
Thymus serpyllum var. praelongus Briq. Lab. Alp. Mar. 548. 1895
Thymus chamaedrys var. pulegioides (L.) Nyman Consp. Fl. Eur. : 593 (1881)

Common names Top

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Language Common/alternative name
English lemon thyme
English broad-leaved thyme
English large thyme
Spanish serpillo
Belarusian Чабор украінскі
Bulgarian планинска мащерка
Czech mateřídouška vejčitá
Czech mateřídouška polejová
Welsh teim gwyllt mawr
Danish bredbladet timian
German gemeiner thymian
German quendel-thymian
German gewöhnlicher thymian
German feld-thymian
German arznei-thymian
German breitblättriger thymian
German arzneithymian
Estonian paljalehine liivatee
Persian آویشن لیمویی
Finnish nurmiajuruoho
French serpolet commun
French thym faux pouliot
Upper Sorbian wšědna babyduška
Hungarian kisvirágú kakukkfű
Hungarian hegyi kakukkfű
Lithuanian keturbriaunis čiobrelis
Norwegian Bokmål bakketimian
Dutch grote tijm
pdc deitscher tee
Polish macierzanka zwyczajna
Slovak dúška vajcovitá
Slovenian polajeva materina dušica
Swedish stortimjan
Chinese 卵叶百里香
Chinese 宽叶百里香

Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top

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Name Authority First published in
Thymus pulegioides subsp. effusus (Host) Ronniger Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 30(2): 373 (1936)
Thymus pulegioides subsp. montanus (Trevir.) Ronniger Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 30(2): 371 (1930)
Thymus pulegioides subsp. pulegioides L. Unknown

Varieties (abbr. var.) Top

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Subvarieties (abbr. subvar.) Top

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Forms (abbr. f.) Top

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Germination/Propagation Top

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Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top

Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
  • Europe
    • Eastern Europe
      • Baltic States
      • Belarus
      • Central European Russia
      • East European Russia
      • Northwest European Russia
      • Ukraine
    • Middle Europe
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Germany
      • Hungary
      • Netherlands
      • Poland
      • Switzerland
    • Northern Europe
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • Great Britain
      • Ireland
      • Norway
      • Sweden
    • Southeastern Europe
      • Albania
      • Bulgaria
      • Greece
      • Italy
      • Romania
      • Sicilia
      • Yugoslavia
    • Southwestern Europe
      • France
      • Portugal
      • Spain
  • Northern America
    • Eastern Canada
      • New Brunswick
      • Ontario
      • Québec
    • North-central U.S.A.
      • Wisconsin
    • Northeastern U.S.A.
      • Connecticut
      • Maine
      • Massachusetts
      • Michigan
      • New Hampshire
      • New York
      • Pennsylvania
      • Vermont
    • Northwestern U.S.A.
      • Oregon
      • Washington
    • Southeastern U.S.A.
      • Delaware
      • Maryland
      • Virginia
    • Western Canada
      • Manitoba

Links to other databases Top

Suggest others/fix!
Database ID/link to page
World Flora Online wfo-0000324607
UNII 1KA6N497MU
Canadensys 6482
USDA Plants THPU5
INPN 126566
Flora of Italy 4627
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:461562-1
The Plant List kew-205310
Open Tree Of Life 878540
Observations.org 2778
NCBI Taxonomy 751873
NBN Atlas NBNSYS0000004208
Nature Serve 2.159729
IPNI 461562-1
iNaturalist 169753
GBIF 5341443
Freebase /m/0t52vf5
EPPO THYPU
EOL 484541
Elurikkus 7932
USDA GRIN 50003
Wikipedia Thymus_pulegioides
Plantarium 46971

Genomes (via NCBI) Top

No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.

Scientific Literature Top

Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Title Authors Publication Released IDs
Potential Interest of Oxalis pes-caprae L., a Wild Edible Plant, for the Food and Pharmaceutical Industries Clemente-Villalba J, Burló F, Hernández F, Carbonell-Barrachina ÁA Foods 12-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10969124
doi:10.3390/foods13060858
PMID:38540848
Land‐use affects pollinator‐specific resource availability and pollinator foraging behaviour Birkenbach M, Straub F, Kiesel A, Ayasse M, Wilfert L, Kuppler J Ecol Evol 07-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10918743
doi:10.1002/ece3.11061
PMID:38455145
RNA-seq analysis reveals narrow differential gene expression in MEP and MVA pathways responsible for phytochemical divergence in extreme genotypes of Thymus daenensis Celak Ahmadi H, Fatahi R, Zamani Z, Shokrpour M, Sheikh-Assadi M, Poczai P BMC Genomics 04-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10913619
doi:10.1186/s12864-024-10164-x
PMID:38438980
Influence of Sucrose and Activated Charcoal on Phytochemistry and Vegetative Growth in Zephyranthes irwiniana (Ravenna) Nic. García (Amaryllidaceae) Dewes Neto B, Gomes-Copeland KK, Silveira D, Gomes SM, Craesmeyer JM, de Castro Nizio DA, Fagg CW Plants (Basel) 20-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10935178
doi:10.3390/plants13050569
PMID:38475416
Use of Essential Oils to Counteract the Phenomena of Antimicrobial Resistance in Livestock Species Lupia C, Castagna F, Bava R, Naturale MD, Zicarelli L, Marrelli M, Statti G, Tilocca B, Roncada P, Britti D, Palma E Antibiotics (Basel) 07-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10885947
doi:10.3390/antibiotics13020163
PMID:38391549
The Oldest Bryophyte Herbarium Specimens from Central Europe, Collected by M. E. Boretius in 1717: Taxonomy, Nomenclature, Datation and Ethnopharmacology Drobnik J, Stebel A, Graniszewska M Plants (Basel) 24-Jan-2024
PMCID:PMC10857619
doi:10.3390/plants13030349
PMID:38337882
Investigation of Volatile Components and Assessment of Antioxidant Potential in Seven Lamiaceae Plant Hydrosols Xin Z, Wang W, Yang W, Li Y, Niu L, Zhang Y Molecules 26-Dec-2023
PMCID:PMC10780048
doi:10.3390/molecules29010145
PMID:38202728
Understanding the Lost: Reconstruction of the Garden Design of Villa Peretti Montalto (Rome, Italy) for Urban Valorization Bartoli F, D’Amato L, Nucera A, Albani Rocchetti G, Caneva G Plants (Basel) 26-Dec-2023
PMCID:PMC10780482
doi:10.3390/plants13010077
PMID:38202385
Thymoquinone: A Promising Therapeutic Agent for the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer Kurowska N, Madej M, Strzalka-Mrozik B Curr Issues Mol Biol 23-Dec-2023
PMCID:PMC10814900
doi:10.3390/cimb46010010
PMID:38248312
Chemical Compositions of Essential Oil Extracted from Eight Thyme Species and Potential Biological Functions Dong Y, Wei Z, Yang R, Zhang Y, Sun M, Bai H, Mo M, Yao C, Li H, Shi L Plants (Basel) 15-Dec-2023
PMCID:PMC10747983
doi:10.3390/plants12244164
PMID:38140491
The significance of essential oils and their antifungal properties in the food industry: A systematic review Abdi-Moghadam Z, Mazaheri Y, Rezagholizade-shirvan A, Mahmoudzadeh M, Sarafraz M, Mohtashami M, Shokri S, Ghasemi A, Nickfar F, Darroudi M, Hossieni H, Hadian Z, Shamloo E, Rezaei Z Heliyon 29-Oct-2023
PMCID:PMC10637975
doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21386
PMID:37954273
Evaluation of seed‐dispersal services by ants at a temperate pasture: Results of direct observations in an ant suppression experiment Konečná M, Lisner A, Blažek P, Pech P, Lepš J Ecol Evol 29-Sep-2023
PMCID:PMC10541265
doi:10.1002/ece3.10569
PMID:37780093
Talking Different Languages: The Role of Plant–Plant Communication When an Invader Beats up a Strange Neighborhood Hall RM, Markovic D, Kaul HP, Wagentristl H, Urban B, Durec N, Renner-Martin K, Ninkovic V Plants (Basel) 18-Sep-2023
PMCID:PMC10534427
doi:10.3390/plants12183298
PMID:37765461
Boundaries Are Blurred: Wild Food Plant Knowledge Circulation across the Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian Borderland Prakofjewa J, Sartori M, Šarka P, Kalle R, Pieroni A, Sõukand R Biology (Basel) 09-Apr-2023
PMCID:PMC10135537
doi:10.3390/biology12040571
PMID:37106771
Plants and Other Materials Used for Dyeing in the Present Territory of Poland, Belarus and Ukraine according to Rostafiński’s Questionnaire from 1883 Köhler P, Bystry A, Łuczaj Ł Plants (Basel) 28-Mar-2023
PMCID:PMC10096798
doi:10.3390/plants12071482
PMID:37050108

Phytochemical Profile Top

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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
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Name PubChem ID Canonical SMILES MW Found in Proof
> Hydrocarbons / Unsaturated hydrocarbons / Branched unsaturated hydrocarbons
Gamma-Terpinene 7461 Click to see 136.23 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Monoterpenoids / Acyclic monoterpenoids
3,7-Dimethylocta-2,6-Dienal 8843 Click to see 152.23 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8
Geraniol 637566 Click to see CC(=CCCC(=CCO)C)C 154.25 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8
https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2006-961697
Linalool 6549 Click to see 154.25 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8
Neral 643779 Click to see 152.23 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Monoterpenoids / Aromatic monoterpenoids
Carvacrol 10364 Click to see CC1=C(C=C(C=C1)C(C)C)O 150.22 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8
P-Cymene 7463 Click to see 134.22 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8
Thymol 6989 Click to see 150.22 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Monoterpenoids / Bicyclic monoterpenoids
(+-)-Fenchone 14525 Click to see 152.23 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Sesquiterpenoids
Caryophyllene 5281515 Click to see CC1=CCCC(=C)C2CC(C2CC1)(C)C 204.35 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8
Caryophyllene,alpha + beta mixt. 5354499 Click to see 204.35 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-1978(94)90086-8

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