Thymus serpyllum
- noun
:
tomillo silvestre
- Thymus serpyllum is commonly found on dry banks and rocky hillsides throughout Europe.
Examples
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Herbalists value Thymus serpyllum for its aromatic leaves and potential medicinal properties.
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Thymus serpyllum is often used as a decorative groundcover in rock gardens.
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The gentle aroma of Thymus serpyllum filled the hillside in early summer.
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The Thymus serpyllum is often used in herbal remedies.
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I spotted Thymus serpyllum growing on the hillside.
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The aromatic scent of Thymus serpyllum attracts many pollinators to my garden.
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In the wild, Thymus serpyllum often grows in sunny, well-drained areas.
Synonyms
1
6.1
A small plant with purple flowers that smells nice and is used in cooking
A low, spreading plant with small purple flowers and a pleasant smell used as ground cover
A low, fragrant plant with small purple and white flowers that grows close to the ground
Surface Forms
Morphology
Thymus + serpyllum
The first element 'Thymus' clearly signals the thyme genus, so a learner who recognizes that would infer this is a kind of thyme; however 'serpyllum' is an obscure Latin epithet (not a common English word) so the specific sense 'low‑growing aromatic shrub / wild thyme' is not directly derivable without botanical knowledge. Binomial species names are partly informative (shows taxonomic relation) but rely on specialist or Latin knowledge, giving only partial predictability for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Thymus serpyllum may come from old words that mean 'thyme' and 'to creep'. The first part, Thymus, is the word for thyme and reminds you of its strong smell, and the second part, serpyllum, means 'to creep' because the plant grows low and spreads along the ground, so the name tells you it is a low, spreading 'wild thyme'.