Common thyme
Thymus polytrichus
Family: Lamiaceae
Fire effect on plant
Common thyme is top-killed by fire with belowground parts surviving.
Key traits
Common thyme is a prostrate, creeping perennial extending by runners which become woody. It has a few deep thick, woody roots, and numerous shallow, wiry, adventitious roots (Pigott 1955).
This species sets abundant seed although dispersal appears to be quite limited (Pigott 1955). Seedling emergence following fire has been observed (Valbuena and Trabaud 2001)
Plant response to fire
Common thyme can resprout after fire (Valbuena and Trabaud 2001). It requires high light and benefits from disturbance, such as grazing, where competition from taller vegetation is reduced and a short turf is created (Tansley and Adamson 1925), therefore fire is likely to similarly benefit this species.
Timing of life history
Perennial species. Seeds likely produced from second growing season. Flowering May to August.
Conservation status
None.
References
Pigott, C. D. 1955. Thymus L. Journal of Ecology 43: 365–387 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Tansley, A. G. and Adamson, R. S. 1925. Studies on the vegetation of the English chalk. III. The chalk grasslands of the Hampshire-Sussex border. Journal of Ecology 13: 175-223 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Valbuena, L., Trabaud, L. 2001. Contribution of the soil seed bank to post-fire recovery of a heathland. Plant Ecology 152: 175-183 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]