Thymus carnosus

Thymus carnosus is a small, woody, cushion-forming dwarf shrub of the Lamiaceae, endemic to the coastal sands of southern Portugal and adjacent southwestern Spain. It grows to about 10 to 30 cm tall, with much-branched, somewhat erect stems becoming woody at the base. The leaves are distinctive among thymes in being thick, fleshy, and almost succulent, linear to narrowly oblong, with margins rolled under, dotted with aromatic oil glands and ciliate at the base. The small, two-lipped flowers are white to pale pink and crowded into compact terminal heads, blooming in late spring and summer and attracting bees. The whole plant is strongly aromatic, its essential oil rich in borneol and camphene. A rare and legally protected species, it is confined to consolidated coastal dunes and cliff-top maritime habitats.