Common name:
Wild thyme
Family:
Scientific name:
Thymus polytrichus
Main flower color:
Range:
All of the UK, though less common in parts of east England
Height:
Up to 10 cm
Habitat:
Dry grassland, heaths, dunes, coastal cliffs
Flowers:
Pink, two-lipped corollas, the lower lip divided into three equal-sized lobes, and hairy purple calyces, also two lobed, the upper divided into three broad teeth, the lower into two narrower teeth. Flowers form in dense, compact clusters on stems which are long-hairy along the angles and on two opposite faces; the other faces are essentially hairless
Leaves:
Opposite, ovate, flat, up to 8 mm long, on short stalks; plants form spreading mats
Season:
June to September
Rarity:
★★★★★
