A considerable amount of confusion has existed in the naming of thymes. Many nurseries use common names rather than binomial names, which can lead to mix-ups. For example
golden thyme,
lemon thyme, and
creeping thyme are all common names for more than one cultivar. Some confusion remains over the naming and taxonomy of some species, and Margaret Easter (who holds the
NCCPG National Plant Collection of thymes in the UK) has compiled a list of synonyms for cultivated species and
cultivars. The most common classification is that used by
Jalas, in eight sections: • Micantes: Iberian Peninsula, Madeira and the Azores, includes
T. caespititius • Mastichina: Iberian Peninsula, includes
T. mastichina • Piperella: Monotypic section confined to the
vicinity of Valencia, Spain • Teucrioides: Balkan Peninsula • Pseudothymbra: Iberian Peninsula and north Africa, includes
T. cephalotos,
T. longiflorus and
T. membranaceus • Thymus: Western Mediterranean region, includes
T. camphoratus,
T. carnosus,
T. hyemalis,
T. vulgaris and
T. zygis • Hyphodromi: Throughout the Mediterranean region, includes
T. cilicicus and
T. comptus • Serpyllum: The largest section, throughout whole region, apart from Madeira and Azores, includes
T. comosus,
T. doerfleri,
T. herba-barona,
T. longicaulis,
T. pannonicus,
T. praecox,
T. pulegioides,
T. quinquecostatus,
T. richardii,
T. serpyllum,
T. sibthorpii and
T. thracicus Selected species •
Thymus adamovicii •
Thymus altaicus •
Thymus amurensis •
Thymus boissieri •
Thymus bracteosus •
Thymus broussonetii •
Thymus caespititius •
Thymus camphoratus •
Thymus capitatus •
Thymus capitellatus •
Thymus camphoratus •
Thymus carnosus •
Thymus cephalotus •
Thymus cherlerioides •
Thymus ciliatus •
Thymus cilicicus •
Thymus cimicinus •
Thymus citriodorus (
Thymus × citriodorus) syn.
T. fragrantissimus,
T. serpyllum citratus,
T. serpyllum citriodorum. – citrus thyme •
Thymus comosus •
Thymus comptus •
Thymus curtus •
Thymus decussatus •
Thymus disjunctus •
Thymus doerfleri •
Thymus dubjanskyi •
Thymus glabrescens •
Thymus herba-barona •
Thymus hirsutus •
Thymus hyemalis •
Thymus inaequalis •
Thymus integer •
Thymus lanuginosus, syn.
T. serpyllum – woolly thyme •
Thymus leucospermus •
Thymus leucotrichus •
Thymus longicaulis •
Thymus longiflorus •
Thymus mandschuricus •
Thymus marschallianus •
Thymus mastichina •
Thymus membranaceus •
Thymus mongolicus •
Thymus moroderi •
Thymus nervulosus •
Thymus nummularis •
Thymus odoratissimus •
Thymus pallasianus •
Thymus pallidus •
Thymus pannonicus •
Thymus praecox – creeping thyme •
Thymus proximus •
Thymus pseudolanuginosus, syn.
T. serpyllum – woolly thyme •
Thymus pulegioides – lemon thyme • - Japanese thyme •
Thymus richardii •
Thymus satureioides •
Thymus serpyllum •
Thymus sibthorpii •
Thymus striatus •
Thymus thracicus – lavender thyme •
Thymus villosus •
Thymus vulgaris – common thyme •
Thymus zygis ==Distribution and habitat==