Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 31, 2026

Thymelaea

Thymelaea is a genus of about 30 species of evergreen shrubs and herbs in the flowering plant family Thymelaeaceae, native to the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean region, north to central Europe, and east to central Asia.

Last revised
Jul 31, 2026
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Thymelaea
Thymelaea hirsuta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Thymelaeaceae
Subfamily: Thymelaeoideae
Genus: Thymelaea
Mill. (1754), nom. cons.
Type species
Thymelaea sanamunda
Species1

33; see text

Synonyms1
  • Chlamydanthus C.A.Mey. (1843)
  • Gastrilia Raf. (1838)
  • Giardia C.Gerber (1899), non Giardia Künstler (1882).
  • Ligia Fasano (1788)
  • Pausia Raf. (1838)
  • Piptochlamys C.A.Mey. (1843)
  • Sanamunda Neck. (1790), opus utique oppr.
  • Tartonia Raf. (1840)

Thymelaea (the sparrow-worts) is a genus of about 30 species of evergreen shrubs and herbs in the flowering plant family Thymelaeaceae, native to the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean region, north to central Europe, and east to central Asia.

Etymology

The genus name Thymelaea is a combination of the Greek name for the herb thyme θύμος (thúmos) and that for the olive ἐλαία (elaía) - in reference to its thyme-like foliage and olive-like fruit; while the English name Sparrow-wort (used by Thomas Green in his Universal Herbal, published 1820) is a translation of the name of the genus Passerina (in which Thymelaea was formerly placed), derived from the word passer "sparrow" - given the plants in reference to a perceived similarity of the shape of the fruit to a sparrow's beak.2

Species

33 species are accepted.1

  • Thymelaea antiatlantica Maire
  • Thymelaea argentata (Lam.) Pau
  • Thymelaea aucheri Meisn.
  • Thymelaea broteriana Cout.
  • Thymelaea bulgarica Cheshm.
  • Thymelaea calycina (Lapeyr.) Meisn.
  • Thymelaea cilicica Meisn.
  • Thymelaea × conradiae Aboucaya & Médail
  • Thymelaea coridifolia (Lam.) Endl.
  • Thymelaea dioica (Gouan) All.
  • Thymelaea elliptica (Boiss.) Endl.
  • Thymelaea gattefossei H.K.Tan
  • Thymelaea granatensis (Pau) Lacaita
  • Thymelaea gussonei Boreau
  • Thymelaea hirsuta (L.) Endl.
  • Thymelaea lanuginosa (Lam.) Ceballos & C.Vicioso
  • Thymelaea lythroides Barratte & Murb.
  • Thymelaea mesopotamica (C.Jeffrey) B.Peterson
  • Thymelaea microphylla Coss. & Durieu
  • Thymelaea passerina (L.) Coss. & Germ. – spurge flax
  • Thymelaea procumbens A.Fern. & R.Fern.
  • Thymelaea pubescens (L.) Meisn.
  • Thymelaea putorioides Emb. & Maire
  • Thymelaea ruizii Loscos ex Casav.
  • Thymelaea salsa Murb.
  • Thymelaea sanamunda All.
  • Thymelaea sempervirens Murb.
  • Thymelaea subrepens Lange
  • Thymelaea tarton-raira (L.) All.
  • Thymelaea tinctoria (Pourr.) Endl.
  • Thymelaea velutina (Pourr. ex Cambess.) Endl.
  • Thymelaea villosa (L.) Endl.
  • Thymelaea virescens Meisn.
  • Thymelaea virgata (Desf.) Endl.
References

References

  1. "Thymelaea Mill". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  2. The Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening ed. Chittenden, Fred J., 2nd edition, by Synge, Patrick M. Volume III : Je-Pt. Pub. Oxford at the Clarendon Press 1965. Reprinted 1984. ISBN 0-19-869106-8