Plant Heritage Spring 2009
Thymus 'Culinary Lemon'
Further research regarding the lemon scented thyme T. citriodorus Schreb. has revealed that Persoon and Schreber cited earlier authors,
who had described the lemon scented T. pulegioides L. and not the bushy mid green leaved lemon scented thyme currently known as
T. citriodorus, together with its golden and silver variegated cultivars, available from nurseries and garden centres.
Persoon described T. serpyllum subsp. citriodorus, but was actually using the common name for
T. pulegioides, Serpyllum, as used by Parkinson and other authors for the lemon scented T. pulegioides.
Neither Persoon nor Schreber ever used the hybrid status and this status was first used
by Ronniger in 1924 when describing native British thymes.
He referred to lemon scented British thyme,
T. × citriodorus, which he considered to be a hybrid between
T. pulegioides and T. vulgaris, but only known as cultivated plants in England.
However the lemon scented thyme he was describing was the lemon scented garden thyme of unknown parentage and not the lemon scented
T. citriodorus of Persoon and Schreber, which should be regarded as a synonym of T. pulegioides.
The 1999 Golden Thyme DNA Study demonstrated that T. pulegioides, T. vulgaris and T. citriodorus hort.
are distinct taxa and that the golden leaved thymes should be regarded as cultivars of T. pulegioides.
As T. citriodorus should be regarded as a synonym of T. pulegioides, I propose that the bushy
mid green leaved lemon scented thyme, together with its golden variegated cultivars, should be renamed.
The mid green leaved thyme needs a cultivar epithet which refers to its culinary use and I propose that it should be known as
T. 'Culinary Lemon' and trust that this name is less likely to be regarded as a new cultivar!
The earliest reference to variegated lemon thyme I have found is in 1629 where Parkinson, writing in The Garden of
Pleasant Flowers, described "Guilded or embrodered Tyme", with variegated golden leaves.
This variegated golden thyme has since been cultivated in gardens and by nurserymen.
In 1870 a First Class Certificate was awarded by the RHS to T. citriodorus aureus exhibited by
Messrs E.G. Henderson & Son of Maida Vale.
However as the epithet 'Aureus' is already in use for the golden leaved T. pulegioides 'Aureus',
I propose that the golden variegated lemon scented thyme should be renamed T. 'Aureomarginatus',
adopting the 1871 epithet aureo-marginatus as cited in Johnson's Gardeners' Dictionary (1894).
This thyme is no longer available from British nurseries but is widely available in America.
As far as the golden variegated cultivars are concerned, I propose that they should all be referred to without the specific epithet;
the plain green leaved thymes T. 'Lemon Supreme' and T. 'Lime' and the golden variegated thymes
T. 'Golden King', T. 'Golden Lemon', T. 'Golden Queen', and T. 'Nyewoods'.
As far as the silver variegated thymes are concerned, I propose that they should also be referred to without the specific epithet.
It has been confusing to have the identical looking cultivars, lemon scented 'Silver Queen' in one species
and thyme scented 'Silver Posie' in another.
The silver variegated thymes will be known as T. 'Argenteus', T. 'Fort Ross', T. 'Silver King',
T. 'Silver Posie' and T. 'Silver Queen'.
However the silver variegated thymes T. vulgaris 'Rosa Granit' and T. vulgaris Sicilian,
collected in the wild, will remain in T. vulgaris, together with T. vulgaris 'Silver Pearl',
a sport from T. vulgaris selected by John Tuite.
During the course of my research while compiling the Check List of Thymus cultivars
it has become apparent that several cultivar names have not been validly published.
Many nurseries no longer produce a printed catalogue, preferring the cheaper option of a website based catalogue,
or only produce a printed list without descriptions.
In my article in Plant Heritage in Autumn 2008 I published new names for cultivars, some of which had been placed in
the wrong species and some with invalid names and there are more new names to add to them, prior to publication of the Checklist.
There is a seed strain of creeping thyme, T. serpyllum 'Magic Carpet', introduced by Jelitto Seeds in 2001,
from which nurserymen have selected and named seedlings.
All are mat forming with creeping stems.
In Germany Helmut Stade of Staudenkulture Stade, selected two white seedlings, which he introduced in 2003 and named
T. serpyllum 'Gregor's Weiße' and T. serpyllum 'Anja's Kompakte', for two of the workers on his nursery.
In the UK T. serpyllum 'Red Carpet' with dark crimson (78A) flowers was first listed in RHS Plant Finder
in 2004 by Orchard House Nursery and Angela Whiting of D'Arcy and Everest selected a dark purple flowered seedling,
which she named T. serpyllum 'Purple Carpet' and introduced in 2008.
Martina Slater of Foxhollow Nursery, raiser of the very popular variegated T. pulegioides 'Foxley',
also raised a small bushy thyme, with grey-green leaves and pink flowers and she named it T.'Carshalton',
the location of her nursery.
It was introduced by Wanborough Herb Nursery in 2003 and listed in RHS Plant Finder in 2004, but the nursery does not
issue a descriptive catalogue.
Arthur Sheering of Highdown Nursery has selected and named several thymes from seedlings on the nursery.
His 2003, 2004 and 2005 introductions have only been listed in RHS Plant Finder, but as his last printed catalogue
was issued in 2002 they have never been described.
Thymus 'Highdown Lemon', introduced in 2003, is a sport from T. 'Doone Valley' where the variegated leaves have
reverted to dark green; the loss of variegation would appear to be permanent.
Thymus 'Highdown Red' (Coccineus Group), introduced in 2003, is a mat forming creeping thyme with dark crimson flowers,
obtained as creeping red thyme and named for his nursery.
Thymus 'Blush', introduced in 2004, is mat forming with creeping stems, the leaves are very small and pale green
and the flowers very pale pink, hence the name 'Blush'.
Thymus 'Caroline', introduced in 2004 and named for his youngest daughter, is mat forming
with creeping stems and lilac pink flowers.
Thymus 'Dark Eyes', introduced in 2004, is mat forming with long prostrate stems and pink flowers with a darker centre.
Thymus 'Goldie', introduced in 2004 has pale green to golden leaves and dark pink flowers.
Thymus 'Highdown Adur', introduced in 2004 and named for the River Adur which flows through Henfield in Sussex,
is mat forming with creeping stems, with purple-pink flowers, splashed with dark crimson and is a seedling from my
T. 'Caborn Lilac Gem'.
Thymus 'Highdown Stretham', introduced in 2004 and named after Stretham Manor, once owned by the Bishops of Chichester and
situated on the banks of the River Adur, is mat forming with creeping stems and pale lilac flowers.
Thymus 'New Hall', introduced in 2004, is mat forming with creeping stems, pink-purple flowers and pale green leaves.
Thymus 'Rosalind', named for Arthur's eldest daughter, is mat forming with creeping stems and lilac pink flowers.
Thymus 'Rosa Ceeping', introduced in 2004, a vigorous ground cover thyme, is a seedling from T. 'Spicy Orange'
and the name is an anagram of Orange Spice TM.
The trade mark name has been used incorrectly as a cultivar name since it was imported from a Canadian nursery,
but American nurseries list this thyme under both cultivar and trade mark names.
Thymus 'Snowman', introduced in 2004, is mat forming with creeping stems and very pale pink, almost white flowers.
Thymus 'Lemon Sorbet', introduced in 2005, is a rather beautiful sport from T. pulegioides 'Kurt',
with irregular creamy variegation which looks very attractive against the purple flowers.
There is an early flowering thyme, with long prostrate stems and pink flowers with a dark crimson centre,
available in many garden centres labelled T. serpyllum (misapplied), also known as Early Red Thyme.
As the earliest known date of publication is in Rosemary Titterington's Iden Croft 1991 catalogue,
I propose naming it T. 'Rosemary's Early Red'.
There are two other thymes with long prostrate stems, also for many years incorrectly included in T. serpyllum, but unlikely to have
T. serpyllum in their parentage, T. serpyllum 'Flossy' and T. serpyllum 'Iden', which will now be known as
T. 'Flossy' and T. 'Iden'.
In 1989 Rosemary Titterington introduced a white flowered T. vulgaris she had selected on the nursery and which she named
T. vulgaris 'Albus', an invalid name.
I propose that it should now be known as T. vulgaris 'Rosemary's White'.
As Alan Bloom's T. doerfleri 'Bressingham' is unlikely to have T. doerfleri in its parentage,
I propose that it should be known as T. 'Bressingham'.
There is a hairy leaved creeping thyme currently listed in RHS Plant Finder with the epithet 'Minor'.
As the use of this epithet for the pink flowered creeping thyme T. serpyllum 'Minor' pre-dates it,
I propose that it should be renamed T. 'Nettleton Pink Carpet'.
The earliest listing I have found is in Potterton and Martin's 1987 catalogue and all new plants from the nursery,
now known as Pottertons Nursery, include Nettleton in the cultivar epithet.
In 2005 Pottertons introduced T. serpyllum 'Red Glow'.
However as it is likely to have T. pulegioides in its parentage, I propose that it should be known as T. 'Red Glow'.
Three more pink flowered creeping thymes, which I collected in Snowdonia in 2005 are being used in the DNA study and will be included
in the Thymus Check List.
They will be known as T. 'Snowdonia Meical', T. 'Snowdonia Merfyn' and T. 'Snowdonia Morwenna'.
German nurserymen have selected wild collected T. pulegioides, some of which have been introduced with the name
of the place of origin rather than a cultivar epithet, which can lead to confusion.
In consultation with the nurserymen who collected them, they now have valid names.
Thymus pulegioides 'Hotzenwald', collected by Klaus Oetjen in the southern part of the Black Forest, grows as a vigorous loose bush
and has lemon scented leaves.
Werner Simon, whose nursery is in Marktheidenfeld, introduced it in 2000 as T. froelichianus <ln Hotzenwald>,
indicating that it came from Hotzenwald.
Thymus pulegioides 'Merishausen' grows as a loose bush and has lemon scented leaves.
It was collected by Klaus Oetjen in northern Switzerland and was introduced by Werner Simon in 2001 as
T. pulegioides <Merishausen>.
Thymus valesiacus was collected in the Massa Gorge in Switzerland by Werner's father, Dr. Hans Simon and was listed in
their catalogue from 1995 and in later catalogues as T. valesiacus 'Massa' and in RHS Plant Finder from 2000.
As this is an invalid name he has renamed it T. 'Massa'.
He selected a T. pulegioides seedling with purple-pink flowers and a dark crimson central blotch,
from Jelitto Seeds plants raised by Helmut Stade, which he introduced in 1997 as T. pulegioides <Stade> and has named it
T. pulegioides 'Hans', for his father.
Klaus Oetjen has a new thyme this year with cream variegated leaves, T. serpyllum 'Mimikry',
a sport from T. 'Atropurpureus' ['Purple Beauty'].
There is a grey-green leaved bushy T. vulgaris 'Auvergne', from Herbert Vinken's nursery, Herb's, in Nuttel, Germany
available before 2002, but not listed in his catalogues.
For more than ten years Hans Kramer of De Hessenhof, in Hessenweg in the Netherlands has sold a beautiful unnamed
creeping hairy leaved thyme with bright pink flowers, which will now be known as T. serpyllum 'Hessenhof'.
Olivier Filippi whose nursery in Meze sells Mediterranean plants, has selected a pink and a white flowered
T. vulgaris which he has named T. vulgaris 'Chinian Rose' and T. vulgaris 'Chinian Blanc' and which have been
listed in RHS Plant Finder since 2003.
Betty Ann Addison of Rice Creek Gardens, Minnesota has introduced several thymes, including a creeping thyme which she named
T. 'Lime Thyme', an invalid name.
As there is a Dutch bushy thyme with the epithet 'Lime', which predates it, it will now be known as
T. 'Creeping Lime', the name used by other American nurseries.
Sandy Mush Herbs in North Carolina introduced a creeping thyme with dark red flowers in 1991, named
T. 'Coccineus Mint' and I propose that it should be known as T. 'Mint' (Coccineus Group).
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