Properties of thyme

Thyme is a small plant typical of the Mediterranean climate with enormous medicinal properties used by both man and bees. The man uses it very frequently in the kitchen to elaborate dishes and the bees in the elaboration of their raw honey. keep reading and learn about the properties of thyme.

In the Cortijuelo de San Benito in Las Rozas in Madrid or in our online store you can buy numerous products with thyme, such as thyme honey, cheese with thyme, and propolis with thyme.

If you want to know the properties of other medicinal plants, you may be interested: Properties of lavender

Scientific name of thyme

Thymus vulgaris

The thyme plant and its flower

Thyme is a small plant that does not usually exceed 20 centimetres in height. The silver of the thyme is easily distinguished by the enormous quantity of sheets that it has, which are of a centimeter of length including the pedínculo that joins them with its stem. The leaves of this plant can be moreovada and lanceolada if it finds with abundance of water, but these usually are narrower by the conditions of drought, due to which their edges are rolled in the reverse. The back of the leaf is whitish, with an enormous amount of white hairs covering it. If we see with a microscope magnifying glass, we can see on the top of the leaf numerous dimples, where a drop of essence shines in many of them.

In the upper parts of the branches are grouped thyme flowers in a head shape. The calyx of the flowers is garnet red, and formed from a single piece. The corolla of about 7 mm is divided into two lips, one upper and one lower subdivided into three lobes, and is pink or white coloured. The stamens of these flowers are usually very visible and are attached to the upper lip of the corolla.

The smell of this plant is potent and well known, this is the smell of thymol.

Flowering of the thyme:

Thyme flowers in early spring, in the month of March.

Thyme growing area

Thyme is a plant typical of the Mediterranean climate and is found on hills and slopes exposed to the sun in almost all of Spain. It is usually accompanied by holm oaks, rosemary and lavender.

Thyme composition

The highlight of thyme is its essence which varies according to where it is bred and the soil and climatic conditions. The main component of this essence is thymol, but also contains others to a lesser extent, l-alpha-pinene, cimol, borneol, lanalo, etc..

What is thyme used for? Properties of thyme

Thyme has beneficial properties on circulation and the nervous system, lowering the pulse and increasing physical forces. Thyme also has the property of awakening digestive functions.

Other properties of thyme are its antiseptic properties, very indicated for the affections of the respiratory system.

Thyme honey:

Thyme honey has a light amber color with reddish reflections. If this honey has some contamination of some myelate takes slightly darker colors.

Thyme honey is one of the honeys of Spanish origin with more intense and persistent aromas. In the mouth you can clearly appreciate its sweet taste with acid notes.

Photo 1: Thyme honey

Uses of thyme

The benefits of thyme, apart from obtaining them by consuming thyme honey, can be obtained by making an infusion of thyme, which acts as invigorating, digestive and cleansing. They can also add to the broths some thyme leaves or with the elaboration of thyme brandies.

The invigorating baths using essences of thyme, rosemary and lavender are other of the uses that we can give to these aromatic herbs. To prepare the essence, boil the thyme leaves in a casserole of water, and once they are well boiled, use this essence in the bath water. this bath will relax you and leave you as new.

Thyme infusion to lose weight

According to some studies and evidence, it appears that infusions with thyme leaves help to lose weight. However, more research would be needed to prove these facts.

Reasoning a little, if the thyme infusion relaxes you and is a substitute for a more calorific drink, clearly the thyme infusion will help you lose weight. In addition to helping you lose weight will bring you a lot of benefits as we have seen before.

Source:

The health line website. Properties of thyme