Taxon:  Thymus serpyllum L.



Summary
Genus:
Thymus
Family:
Lamiaceae (alt. Labiatae)
Subfamily:
Nepetoideae
Tribe:
Mentheae
Subtribe:
Menthinae
Nomen number:
36628
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:590.  1753
Verified:
05/15/1992 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
10 (5  active, 3  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Thymus serpyllum L. subsp. serpyllum (0 active accession[s])
Thymus serpyllum L. subsp. tanaensis (Hyl.) Jalas (0 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)
Seed

Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
  2. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  3. Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
  4. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
  5. Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
  6. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  7. Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
  8. Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
  9. Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
  10. Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2
  11. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
  12. Marhold, K. & P. Martonfi. 1998. Typification of the name Thymus serphyllum L. (Lamiaceae). Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 128:271-276. Note: lectotypify
  13. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
  14. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  15. Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
  16. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  17. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  18. Stace, C. 1995. New flora of the British Isles.
  19. Terrell, E. E. et al. 1986. Agricultural Handbook no. 505
  20. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
EnglishBreckland thyme  1Stace, C. 1995. New flora of the British Isles.
EnglishBreckland-garden  1Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
Englishcreeping thyme  1Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Englishmother-of-thyme  1Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2
Englishwild thyme  1Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Frenchserpolet  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Frenchthym sauvage  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
GermanFeldthymian  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
GermanQuendel  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguesetomilho  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanishserpol  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanishtomillo  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedishbacktimjan  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transliterated Russiantim'jan polzučij  2Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeAsia-TemperateSiberiaRussian Federation-Eastern SiberiaEastern SiberiaDauriaKomarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1NativeAsia-TemperateSiberiaRussian Federation-Western SiberiaWestern Siberia Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeBelarus  Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeEstonia  Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeLatvia  Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeLithuania  Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeRussian Federation-European partEuropean part Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1NativeEuropeEastern EuropeUkraine n.Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeAustria n.Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeBelgium  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeCzechoslovakia  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeGermany  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeHungary  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropeNetherlands  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeMiddle EuropePoland  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeDenmark  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeFinland  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeNorway  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeSweden  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeNorthern EuropeUnited Kingdom  Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeFormer Yugoslavia n.Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropeFrance n.e.Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
2Cultivated    also cult. 
Native
Asia-Temperate
  • SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia (Dauria)]
Europe
  • NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden
  • MIDDLE EUROPE: Czechoslovakia, Austria (n.), Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland
  • EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine (n.)
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia (n.)
  • SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: France (n.e.)
Cultivated (also cult.)

Reference(s)
  1. Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
  2. Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
  3. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalornamental Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Environmentalornamental Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Medicinesfolklore Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=36628. Accessed 15 April 2026.