Florapass
English
Breckland Thyme

Breckland Thyme

Thymus serpyllum

Identify the Breckland Thyme from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play.

How common: Common

Breckland Thyme is a low, strongly aromatic wild thyme that forms mats on open, sunny ground. Creeping stems root as they spread, and in summer they carry tight heads of pink‑purple flowers that draw many insects. It is closely related to garden thyme and is sometimes grown as a groundcover.

Did you know?

  • A superb nectar source for bees and butterflies; several blue butterfly caterpillars feed on it.
  • Crushing the tiny leaves releases a strong thyme scent.

About the species

Identification

A very low, strongly scented mat‑forming plant (about 5–10 cm, sometimes to 25 cm). Creeping stems root at their joints; short upright flowering shoots stay under about 10 cm. Stems and leaves are softly hairy. Leaves are tiny (3–10 mm), narrow oval, almost without a stalk, with smooth edges. Flower heads are tight at the stem tip, with many small deep pink to purple flowers. After flowering, the seeds form as four tiny hard pieces. Similar garden creeping thymes exist, but this wild species is usually hairier and its upright shoots are very short. Flowers in Finland in July–August.

Plant group

Dwarf shrubs

Habitat

heath forest, shore

Flowering

Jul–Aug

About the habitat

Dry, sunny, open places: sandy heaths and ridges, rocky outcrops, sandy river banks, road and rail embankments, and dry meadows. Common in southern Finland, becoming rarer northwards; absent from Lapland.

Sources

Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thymus serpyllum in Aveyron (1).jpg

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Itämeri: karut rannikkometsät, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39512

Text: Pinkka: Suomen puuvartiset - Koppisiemeniset. Lähteet: Väre, H., Saarinen, J., Kurtto, A. & Hämet-Ahti, L. (toim.) 2021: Suomen puu- ja pensaskasvio. 3. täysin uudistettu p. – Publications of the Finnish Dendrological Society 10: 1–552 s., CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39512

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Metsät: harjumetsät, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39512

Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39512

Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Talvivihreät luonnonkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39512

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangasajuruoho

See also