Thymus praecox
Frühblühender thyme (Thymus praecox )
The Early flowering thyme (Thymus praecox ) is a species of the genus of wild thyme (Thymus ) in the mint family.
Description
The Early flowering thyme is a small shrub, the long, somewhat forming woody, creeping stems that end either in a terminal inflorescence or flowers are not supporting. The flower-bearing stems arise in rows, are slender and usually no longer than 10 cm. At its base is each a tuft of small leaves. The stems are round hairy or hairy only on two opposite sides. The leaves are mostly obovate, broadly spatulate to almost circular, almost leathery and ciliated at the base. The lateral veins are very pronounced in the upper section holds the edge veins.
The bracts similar to the leaves. The calyx is 3-5 mm long, the corolla tube is cylindrical and about as long as upper lips. The upper teeth are just as long as wide. The crown is colored purple.
Occurrence
The species is found in the south, west and central Europe.
System
Within the species several subspecies are distinguished:
- Thymus praecox ssp. praecox
- Thymus praecox ssp. skorpilii ( Velen. ) Jalas
- Long Haired thyme (Thymus praecox ssp. Polytrichus (A. Kerner ex Borba ) Jalas )
- Thymus praecox ssp. Britannicus ( Ronninger ) Holub
- Thymus praecox ssp. zygiformis (H. Brown ) Jalas
- Thymus praecox ssp. grossheimii ( Ronninger ) Jalas