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Thymus ×citriodorus
Lemon thyme is a low, mat-forming evergreen sub-shrub grown for its lemon-scented leaves, used as a culinary herb and groundcover. Full sun and very well drained soil are the key to growing it well.
Thymus citriodorus, the lemon thyme or citrus thyme, is a lemon-scented evergreen mat-forming perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. There has been a great amount of confusion over the plant's correct name and origin. Recent DNA analysis suggests that it is not a hybrid or cross, but a distinct species as it was first described in 1811. An analysis in a different study clustered Thymus citriodorus together with Thymus vulgaris, which is considered one of its parent species (see below).
T. citriodorus is an evergreen sub-shrub, growing to 0.1 metres (3.9 in) in height by 0.3 metres (12 in) in spread. It prefers full sun and well draining soil. The bloom period is mid to late summer, with pink to lavender flowers that are a nectar source for bees and butterflies.
There is also no unanimity regarding its origin, as some authors say that Thymus citriodorus has no natural distribution, while others refer to it as native to Southern Europe and that it is widely cultivated in the Mediterranean region.
Thymus citriodorus and its cultivars are grown as ornamentals, culinary herbs, and medicinal plants. In landscaping, the plants are often used as groundcovers or for planting in beds, between stepping stones, and in containers. In xeriscaping it is useful in hot, arid regions. The plant is drought-tolerant once established. As nectar-producing plants, they are cultivated in bee and butterfly gardens.
Algerian Thyme · Wild Thyme · Spanish Lemon Thyme · Azores Thyme · Camphor Thyme · Thymus · Thymus capitellatus · Portuguese Thyme · Thymus dubjanskyi · Caraway Thyme · Hyemalis Thyme · Thymus integer
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Thymus citriodorus 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.
