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 & Trabaud, 2001).
Plant response to fire
Common thyme can resprout after fire (Valbuena & 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 & Adamson, 1925), therefore fire will 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(1), 365–387 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Tansley, A. G. & Adamson, R. S. (1925). Studies on the vegetation of the English chalk. III. The chalk grasslands of the Hampshire-Sussex border. J. Ecol. 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]