''Thymus camphoratus'' (locally known as ) is a species of flowering plant in the mint family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

, endemic to southwest Portugal.

Description

''Thymus camphoratus'' is an erect

subshrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Der ...

in height. Young stems have a quadrangular section, with very short hairs. Leaves are , ovate-triangular or rhomboidal, revolute in the upper half, acute or subobtuse, with whitish tomentose underside, with glabrescent or pubescent upper surface, densely covered with yellowish spheroidal glands. Inflorescence is in diameter, capituliform. Bracts are , broadly ovate, often pale pinkish or reddish, hairy, with scattered spheroidal glands, glandular hairs and marked veins on the underside. Calyx is , flared; upper teeth are , equal, not ciliated. Flowers are , pink or purple; lower lip with large, subequal lobes. It has purple, exerted anthers. Fruits are , ellipsoid and dark brown. 2n = 30.

Distribution and habitat

''Thymus camphoratus'' is native to southwest Portugal, particularly in the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park. It inhabits

heathlands A heath () is a shrubland habitat (ecology), habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great B ...

and

xerophilic A xerophile () is an extremophilic organism that can grow and reproduce in conditions with a low availability of water, also known as water activity. Water activity (aw) is measured as the humidity above a substance relative to the humidity above ...

scrub on stabilized dunes of limestone based sands, always close to the coast.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q145377 camphoratus Endemic flora of Portugal Endemic flora of the Iberian Peninsula Habitats Directive Species