Wild thyme is a creeping dwarf evergreen shrub, growing to tall. It has woody stems up to 10 cm long and a
taproot. It forms matlike plants that root from the nodes of the squarish, limp stems. The
leaves are 3–8 mm long in opposite pairs, nearly stalkless, with linear elliptic round-tipped blades and untoothed margins. The plant sends up erect flowering shoots in summer. The flowers are 4–6 mm long and usually pink or mauve, rarely white, with a tube-like
calyx and an irregular straight-tubed, hairy
corolla. The upper petal is notched and the lower one is larger than the two lateral petals and has three flattened lobes which form a lip. Each flower has four projecting stamens and two fused carpels. The fruit is a dry, four-chambered
schizocarp.
Chemistry The oils of
T. serpyllum contain
thymol,
carvacrol,
limonene,
paracymene,
gamma-terpinene and
beta-caryophyllene. ==Distribution and habitat==