Thymus praecox subsp. britannicus (Ronniger) Holub

Prostrate shrub with creeping purple-brown stems which are 4-angled and densely covered on 2 faces with hairs of different lengths up to 1mm long. The other 2 faces are sparsely hairy or glabrous. Leaves to 4 mm, elliptical or broadly spoon-shaped with a short petiole; margins ciliate, upper surface covered with more or less erect white hairs 1-1.5 mm long. Lower surface with sparse, similar hairs. The leaf hairs give the whole plant a woolly, grey appearance, hence the common name. Flowers axillary, purple, and not often seen.

Unknown in the wild

This plant is described from a plant in the Chelsea Physic Garden and should probably be regarded as a cultivar of T. polytrichus. It is often available under the incorrect name T. lanuginosus.

Grey and prostrate with small woolly leaves.

Source: Lumley, P. (2002). Thymus. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press. (as Thymus pseudolanuginosus)

kingdom Plantae
phylum   Tracheophyta
class    Magnoliopsida
superorder     Asteranae
order      Lamiales
family       Lamiaceae
species        Thymus praecox