The Thyme of the Rocks

Habit: Perennial herbaceous plant 5-40 (50) cm tall, supported by a thin taproot with a very developed secondary root system. The stems are woody at the base, initially prostrate and then ascending; they have a tetragonal-quadrangular section with two narrower ribs and grooved longitudinally, green or reddish colour and a pubescent surface with denser hairs on alternate sides. Leaves: Opposite and patent, supported by a short hairy petiole. The lamina varies from ovate to elliptic-oblanceolate (5-15 mm), with an acute apex and a ciliated margin, often revolute (folded downwards) and equipped with a few small teeth in the upper half. The lower side shows an evident main vein and sparse hairs. Flowers: Grouped in contracted cymes arranged in 3-8 whorls in the axils of the upper leaves, each composed of 2-6 flowers, subtended by linear bracteoles equal to or less than 1 mm. The flowers, supported by a short, erect, hairy pedicel, have a bilabiate, downward-curving, gamosepalous calyx, particularly hairy on the nerves (which are conspicuous by their darker color); the upper lip has three short teeth and the lower one is divided into two awl-shaped lobes. The corolla is infundibuliform, zygomorphic, and gamopetalous, violet or pinkish-purple in color, with a hairy tube conspicuously protruding from the calyx; it is bilabiate, with a bilobed upper lip that is shorter than the lower one (the latter is trilobed, with a whitish base and a blunt middle lobe). Fruit: A tetrachene consisting of four obovoid, pointed, brownish mericarps (nuts). Flowering: June - August.

Chorological type: Southern European orophyte. Distribution in Italy: Mainly present in the mountainous and subalpine areas of the central-southern Apennines and on island reliefs (such as the Nebrodi and Etna). Habitat: Generally a calcium-loving species (loving soils rich in calcium carbonate). It inhabits alpine and subalpine meadows and pastures, preferring arid, sunny, and infertile sites on stony soils, rocky scree, and landslide-prone slopes, in an altitude range between 1,000 and 2,700 meters above sea level.

Genus (Ziziphora): A compound name derived from the Greek word zízyphon, meaning jujube, and the verb phoréo, meaning to carry. The overall meaning and reason for the botanical reference remain unclear.

Species (granatensis): A geographical epithet that directly refers to the city of Granada (Granata) and the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Andalusia (Spain), the area where the plant was historically collected and described.

Southern clinopodium is an edible and medicinal plant. Thanks to its rich phytocomplex of essential oils, terpenes, and tannins, the plant is traditionally recognized for its diaphoretic (stimulating sweating), antipyretic, tonic-stimulant, digestive, and carminative (promoting the expulsion of intestinal gas) properties. The pleasantly aromatic leaves and flowering tops are harvested and dried to be used in herbal teas, digestive infusions, herbal liqueurs, and mother tinctures.