HERBAL MONOGRAPHSFlower and Fruit: The flowers are in erect, loose umbellifer-
ous panicles on loosely tomentose, later glabrous pedicles.
The petals are white and the anthers light yellow. The false
fruit is orbicular-oblong and 1.5 cm long. The fruit is
0 initially reddish-yellow, later brown and speckled. The 4
seeds are oblong, deltoid, 7 mm long and dark red-brown.Leaves, Stem and Root; The plant is at times a small tree, but
may sometimes grow up to 22 m tall tree with a widely
domed crown. The bark is dark brown or gray. It is cracked
into scaly plates to fairly high up. The older branches are
glabrous, gray-brown, glossy and angular with lighter
lenticles. The younger branches are loosely tomentose,
greenish, later reddish-brown. The buds are broad ovoid and
glabrous with shiny green scales. The buds are brown at the
edge and loosely pubescent or glabrous. The leaves have 5
cm long, thin, downy, loosely tomentose petioles, which are
fresh green. The petioles turn blood-red in autumn.Habitat: The plant is common in northern temperate zones.
It is cultivated in many regions.Production: Wild Service Tree berries are the fruits of
- Sorbus torminalis.
Other Names: Wild Sorvice, AshACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY
COMPOUNDS
Sugar alcohols: sorbitolThe fruits do not contain parasorboside, in contrast to those
of Sorbus aucuparia.The drug has not been fully researched.EFFECTS
No information is available.INDICATIONS AND USAGE
See Mountain Ash Berry (Sorbus aucuparia).PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS
No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction
with the proper administration of designated therapeutic
dosages.DOSAGE
Mode of Administration: See Mountain Ash Berry (Sorbus
aucuparia).LITERATURE
There is no literature available.WILD THYME/815Wild Thyme
Thymus serpyllum
DESCRIPTION
Medicinal Parts: The medicinal parts are the steamed
distillation of the dried aerial parts, the aerial shoots
collecting during the flowering season and dried, the fresh
aerial parts of the flowering plant and the whole plant.
Flower and Fruit: The inflorescence is globular to very
elongated, often interrupted in false whorls, which are
separate from each other. The calyx is tubular-campanualte
with 10 distinct ribs. The 3 tips of the upper lip are short and
ciliate. The 2 lower tips are awl-shaped, longer than the
upper tips and ciliate. The corolla is 3 to 6 cm long with a
short tube. It is light to dark purple, occasionally white.
Leaves, Stem and Root: The plant is a slightly woody
subshrub that grows from 10 to 30 cm high. The flowering
stems are erect. The non-flowering stems are decumbent,
round, or mildly quadrangular, pubescent all around and
rooting at all points. The leaves are small, linear or elliptical
and obtuse. The leaves are also flat, narrowing to the petiole,
ciliate at the base, glabrous or rough-haired with protruding
nerves.Characteristics: The odor is aromatic.
Habitat: The plant is found in all temperate regions of
Eurasia.
Production: Wild thyme consists of the dried, flowering,
above-ground parts of Thymus serpyllum.
Not to be Confused With: Herba Thymi (thymian)
Other Names: Mother of Thyme, Serpyllum, Shepherd's
Thyme
ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY
COMPOUNDS
Volatile oil (0.2-0.6%): as a collective species, Thymus
serpyllum (over 20 subspecies) encompasses a large number
of chemical strains with different volatile oil make-up; chief
component is usually carvacrol, further containing, among
others, borneol, isobutyl acetate, caryophyllene, 1,8-cineole,
citral, citronellal, citronellol, p-cymene, geraniol, geranyl
acetate, linalool, linalyl acetate, alpha-pinene, gamma-terpi-
nene, alpha-terpineol, terpinyl acetate and thymol
Flavonoids: including among others scutellarenine-7-O-glu-
coside-4-O-rhamnoside
Cajfeic acid derivatives: in particular rosmarinic acid (2.3%)
EFFECTS
In animal experiments, an antihormonal and thyroid hor-
mone-like effect on the pituitary has been demonstrated. The