Thymus broussonetii Boiss.
Spa.: Tomillo. Fre.: Thym. Ara.: Zaëtra, azukeni.
Subshrub, hermaphrodite, up to 40(60) cm in height. Stems erect, highly branched, the younger ones densely covered in white hairs. Leaves opposite, with short petioles (up to 2 mm), from oval-lanceolate to oval-oblong; cauline leaves with flat or subflat margin, not revolute, entire, the lower leaves glabrous and the upper leaves sometimes with white cilia along the margins, especially in their lower half; limb ± covered in puncta; floral leaves substending the verticillasters, very different from caulinar leaves, especially because floral leaves are completely covered in white cilia (not only along their margins). Inflorescences terminal, subglobose, in verticillasters, dense, with ovate-lanceolate and ciliated bracts. Calyx 6-8 mm, campanulate-cylindrical, not compressed, without lateral keels, with ciliated teeth. Corolla 10-12 mm, deep pink in colour. Androecium with 4 didynamous stamens, exserted, with purple anthers. Nutlets from ovoid to elipsoid.
Flowering:
February-June.
Fruiting:
About 2 months after flowering.
Habitat:
Thickets, on very diverse soils, in a semiarid to subhumid environment.
Distribution:
Species endemic to Morocco. High Atlas and coastal and subcoastal Atlantic regions of northern and central Morocco.
Observations:
Two subspecies can be distinguished, but there are many plants with intermediate characteristics, which sometimes makes the differentiation complicated. T. broussonetii subsp. broussonetii, with subsessile cauline leaves and inflorescence slightly hirsute or glabrous, broadly distributed in the species’ area; and T. broussonetii subsp. hannonis (Maire) R.Morales (T. hannonis Maire), with cauline leaves, petiolated (petiole c. 2 mm), and inflorescence densely villous, that grows in central Atlantic Morocco.
Conservation status:
Common species but with a small distribution area. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.