The genus Thymus consists of about 300 species of herbaceous, perennials and shrubs or subshrubs distributed mainly over Mediterranean countries, Northern part of Africa and Southern Greenland (Sunar et al., 2009).
DeMartino et al (2009) working in Italy and Pioro-Jabrucka et al (2007) working in New Zealand determined that variant species within the genus Thymus also differ in the relative concentration of the active components in the essential oils.
The genus thymus, belonging to the dead nettle family labiatae, contains some 350 species and scores of cultivars, but considerably fewer are commonly available through garden centres and nurseries.