The Wuerzburg/Germany scientific forum "Development of Medicinal Plant Lore," named the original thyme, thymus vulgaris, its medicinal plant for 2006.
The plant has a long history of being used both for it's healing properties and as a culinary herb. It is now considered one of the most valued herbs in the fight against cold-related illnesses.
Thyme is favored for its anti-microbial properties and primarily used to fight coughs, but is used to loosen phlegm and relieve coughing spasms too. The herb is highly valued in the form of an herbal extract to help ease asthma and pertussis. Besides these properties, thyme is an invaluable aid to improve blood flow and as an antibacterial medium. When infections or inflammations of the throat and mouth are present, it is used as a pleasant mouthwash for gargling. It fights mouth odor. Crèmes and lotions containing thyme are used as skin cleansers, and adding thyme to the bath water is pleasant, mildly astringent and cleansing.
The ancient Greek physicians Hippocrates and Dioskurides praised the herb highly. They prescribed this fragrant herb for all manner of illnesses of the respiratory tract and as a medium to loosen phlegm. An entry in the German physician/botanist Leonhart Fuchs's 1543 diary stated, "Thyme and honey boiled together and then consumed is hugely beneficial to those having trouble breathing."
Long ago, thyme served as a digestive aid and was used externally against insect bites and for easing headaches or joint aches. Several of the "bitters" or herbal liqueurs on the market contain thyme extract. But people who suffer from thyroid or liver problems might want to check with their physician prior to consuming or using a thyme-based product.
Thyme's primary beneficial constituents are etheric oils, flavenoids and tannins. The plant's many varieties are indigenous to Middle-and-Southern Europe as well as to the Caucasus region. Thyme is presently grown as a crop in Middle Europe, East Africa, India, Israel, Morocco, North America and Turkey. Small quantities are grown in Germany, Spain and Eastern Europe.
The name thyme itself alludes to its ancient beneficial uses. Thymiamia, the Greek spelling, means "something for burning/incense/smoking." The ancients burned thyme in their temples as an incense offering to their gods, hinting of the intense fragrance the etheric oils in the plants impart when thyme is dried and set alight. Europeans have learnt to know the plant by its latinized name, "herba thymiania," now simply "thyme." Monks brought the herb from the Mediterranean across the Alps.
Depending on the type grown, the strength of the etheric oil differs. French cooking without the use of thyme is virtually unheard of. And in ancient times, damsels would present their brave knights with a bouquet of thyme, to sustain them during a jousting match. The symbolism derives from the translation of the Greek word "thymos", meaning courage and strength.
More than 300 different types of thyme are grown worldwide. The original thymus vulgaris is a low-growing shrub; the 1/4 inch leaves have woolly undersides and are curled under at the edges. In contrast to other, creeping varieties, this thyme has upright branches that extend about 1 1/2 feet. The blossoms are colored delicate lavender, pink or white.
Though the original thyme does not grow wild in Germany, it lives well in home-gardens. It is not frost hardy. Four of its cousins are more prolific: thymus pulegiodes, t.praecox, t.alpinus and t.serpyllum. All types of the plant prefer dry and sun-drenched soil that drains well and has a high percentage of lime. As early as March, thyme can be sown in containers and then in April transplanted into open ground. The perennial thyme needs to be severely pruned back to encourage new growth; one could even train the plant into a decorative herbal spiral.
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