Thymus sibthorpii, Bentham

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1972, Flora Europaea. Volume 3. Diapensiacea to Myoporaceae, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press : 179

41. T. sibthorpii Bentham , Lab. Gen. Sp. 345 (1834)

(incl. T. tosevii Velen. , T. korthiaticus Adamovic , T. macedonicus (Degen & Urum.) Ronniger ).

Flowering stems usually 10- 20(-30) cm, erect to ascending, often branched, shortly pubescent all round (rarely on 2 sides only), woody at base. Creeping, nonflowering stems absent. Leaves usually 10-15 x 3-5 mm, shortly petiolate, elliptic-lanceolate, acute, coriaceous, densely glandular-punctate; lateral veins distinct. Inflorescence often branched, long. Bracts similar to the leaves. Calyx 2-5-3 - 5(-4) mm, campanulate, usually greenish to straw-coloured; upper lip longer than tube; upper teeth c. 1 mm, triangular to lanceolate, ciliate. Corolla pale pink or red. C. part of Balkan peninsula.?A1 Bu Gr Ju?Rm Tu.

This species shows considerable variation, especially in robustness, leaf-size and indumentum.

T. degenii H. Braun , Mitt. Naturw. Ver. Steierm. 54: 262 (1918) ( T. tosevii subsp. degenii (H. Braun) Ronniger ), which appears to be common in the mountains of S. Bulgaria and N.E. Greece (especially Rodopi) between 1000 and 2000 m, is less robust and more procumbent, with flowering stems usually less than 10 cm, smaller and less coriaceous leaves, and the inflorescence often globose and tinged with purple.

Another procumbent variant from Bulgaria and N. Greece was described as T. heterotrichus subsp. cinerascens Velen. , Sitz.-Ber. Böhm. Ges. Wiss. (Math.-Nat. Kl.) 1903(28): 15 (1904). It has minutely puberulent leaves with weak lateral veins and somewhat revolute margins.

T. grisebachii Ronniger , Beih. Bot. Centr. 54B: 663 (1936), described from the border of Greece and Jugoslavia (Kaimakcalan), has stems hairy on 2 sides only.

T. substriatus Borbas , Verh. Naturf. Ver. Brünn 38: 210 (1900), from Macedonia and Bulgaria, is like 41 but has flowering stems which are patent-villous, and somewhat longer calyx.

T. heterotrichus Griseb. , Spicil. FI. Rumel. 2:116 (1844), from N. Greece (Makedhonia), is like 41 but has leaves 12-17 x 2-3 mm, somewhat rounded at apex, subsessile and sparsely glandular-punctate, inflorescence globose, calyx 4-5 mm with upper teeth short, not ciliate. Its relationship with 41 is not clear.