Thyme

tim, a fragrant plant belonging to the mint family. Thyme is related closely to marjoram and sage. The plant bears small whorls of lilac flowers in the axils of the leaves and at the ends of the branches. An aromatic oil is obtained from the leaves and stems. Two kinds are common in Europe, the garden thyme, prized in cookery, and the wild thyme. It is to the latter, an evergreen, creeping species, that Shakespeare makes pleasing reference in Midsummer Night's Dream. "I know a bank where the wild thyme blows." See Mint; Sage; Oil