thyme

Thyme () is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus Thymus of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Eurasia and North Africa. Thymes have culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses. The species most commonly cultivated and used for culinary purposes is Thymus vulgaris, native to Southeast Europe.

== History == thumb|Flowering thyme Wild thyme grows in the Levant, where it might have been first cultivated. Ancient Egyptians used common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage.