Common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a perennial subshrub of the Lamiaceae family that prefers stony ground and sun-drenched garrigues. Growing to a height of seven to twenty centimetres, it has woody cylindrical stems arranged in clumps or dense bushes. Its small greyish leaves are oval and lanceolate; its highly melliferous flowers blossom in spikes at the leaf axils. Wild thyme, or shepherd's thyme, possesses similar properties.
Seven to thirty centimetres high, it has woody, cylindrical stems arranged in dense clumps or bushes.
Main aromatic molecules: Phenols (thymol, carvacrol), monoterpenes (paracymene), monoterpenols (linalool, terpinene-4-ol).
Family: Lamiaceae.
Producing organs: Flowering tops.
Yield: 1.7 to 2.5kg of essential oil per 100kg of flowers.
Equivalence: 1ml → 32 drops (dosage calculated for a calibrated dropper European Pharmacopoeia).
