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Thymbra spicata
Thyme spike is an evergreen dwarf shrub from the Mediterranean and Middle East, grown mainly for its pungent aromatic leaves used as a spice. It thrives in hot, dry, sunny spots with lean, well-drained soil.
Thymbra spicata, also commonly known as spiked savoury, spiked thymbra, thyme spike and donkey hyssop, is a perennial-green dwarf shrub of the family Lamiaceae, native to Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and Iran, having erect stems bearing strongly scented leaves, rich in polyphenols such as rosmarinic acid, carvacrol (CVL) and different flavonoids.
Garrigues are the natural habitat of Thymbra spicata. The plant is typical of exposed marlstone and chalk patches in the mountains, where it accompanies thyme or dominates independent patches. It prefers dry sunny hillsides and high dry meadows.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Thymbra spicata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
