Thymus riatarum
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643fef51b830e257564282 |
| Scientific name | Thymus riatarum |
| Authority | Humbert & Maire |
| First published in | Mém. Soc. Sci. Nat. Maroc, Bot. 17: 43 (1927) |
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
- Dried aerial parts (leaves and stems) used as a culinary herb in regional spice blends.
- Hydrodistilled essential oil (Thymus riatarum oil) used in the flavor and fragrance industries.
Food and beverages (non‑medicinal):
- The dried herb is a traditional seasoning in North‑African cuisine; it is added to tagines, couscous, grilled meats and herb‑blended spice mixes, where its high volatile‑terpenoid content provides a characteristic aroma.
- The essential oil is listed in the EU food‑flavouring register (EU 1334/2008) and is recognised as GRAS 3022 (FEMA); it is incorporated into processed foods such as snack seasonings, sauces and baked goods as a natural flavoring.
Fragrance and cosmetics:
- The oil’s high p‑cymene, thymol and carvacrol content gives a fresh, herbaceous aroma used in perfumery, soaps, shampoos and body lotions.
- Cosmetic use complies with the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC 1223/2009) and IFRA guidelines for fragrance allergens.
Properties relevant to use:
- Reported essential‑oil yields from fresh aerial material range from 0.3 % to 0.8 % (w/w).
- GC–MS analyses of T. riatarum oil consistently show p‑cymene (≈20–30 % of oil), thymol (≈15–25 %) and carvacrol (≈10–20 %); these monoterpenes confer the characteristic aroma and stability required for fragrance applications.
- The dried herb contains 0.5–1.2 % (by weight) total volatiles, making it suitable as a dry spice without loss of flavor intensity.
Standards and regulation:
- Thyme essential oil, including oil from T. riatarum, is covered by ISO 11014‑1 for essential‑oil specifications and by IFRA limits for fragrance allergens.
- In the EU the oil follows the Food Additives Regulation and the same labeling requirements as other thyme‑derived flavorings.
Sustainability and sourcing:
- T. riatarum is endemic to the Middle Atlas of Morocco and occurs in limited, fragmented populations; wild‑harvesting is currently non‑destructive but contributes to local collection pressure.
- Due to restricted distribution, sustainable harvesting recommendations include limiting annual collection to
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
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Africa click to expand
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Northern Africa
- Morocco
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Northern Africa
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000324674 |
| Tropicos | 50194498 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:461601-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-205381 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 6084022 |
| Observations.org | 456185 |
| IPNI | 461601-1 |
| iNaturalist | 1120482 |
| GBIF | 5605609 |
| Elurikkus | 555424 |
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)!
| Title | Authors | Publication | Released | IDs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analysis of the Essential Oil of<i>Thymus riatarum</i> | José Iglesias, Roser Vila, Salvador Cañigueral, Jamal Bellakhdar, Abdelkader Il Idrissi | Informa UK Limited | 24-Apr-2012 |
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
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Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |