Lamiaceae
Garden thyme
Thymus vulgaris
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Genus
- Thymus
Pets and kids
- CatsSafe
- DogsSafe
- KidsSafe
Why
Cats: Safe
Sources below say it is non-toxic to cats. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.
- Thyme - Toxic and Non-toxic Plants - ASPCA ASPCA Animal Poison Control
- Thymus vulgaris (Common Thyme, Garden Thyme, German Thyme, Thyme) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox University or extension
Dogs: Safe
Sources below say it is non-toxic to dogs. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.
- Thyme - Toxic and Non-toxic Plants - ASPCA ASPCA Animal Poison Control
- Thymus vulgaris (Common Thyme, Garden Thyme, German Thyme, Thyme) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox University or extension
Kids: Safe
Sources below say it is non-toxic to young children. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.
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Is Garden thyme safe for cats, dogs and kids?
Is Garden thyme safe for cats?
Our sources call Garden thyme non-toxic to cats. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.
- Thyme - Toxic and Non-toxic Plants - ASPCA ASPCA Animal Poison Control
- Thymus vulgaris (Common Thyme, Garden Thyme, German Thyme, Thyme) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox University or extension
Is Garden thyme safe for dogs?
Our sources call Garden thyme non-toxic to dogs. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.
- Thyme - Toxic and Non-toxic Plants - ASPCA ASPCA Animal Poison Control
- Thymus vulgaris (Common Thyme, Garden Thyme, German Thyme, Thyme) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox University or extension
Is Garden thyme safe for kids?
Our sources call Garden thyme non-toxic to young children. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.
Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.
See all cat-safe plants, dog-safe plants and child-safe plants.
Similar names and close relatives
A shared name doesn't mean a shared answer: check the exact plant.
- Breckland thyme Thymus serpyllumsimilar nameCats: Not sure; Dogs: Not sure; Kids: Not sure
Common names
By language (54)
- Arabic
- زعتر شائع, العبس, صعتر رسمي
- arz
- زعتر شائع
- Asturian
- Tomiellu blancu
- azb
- عادی ککلیک اوْتو
- Azerbaijani
- Adi kəklikotu
- Basque
- Ezkai
- Belarusian
- Чабор звычайны
- Bulgarian
- Обикновена мащерка
- Catalan
- Farigola, Tomell, Thym Commun
- Central Kurdish
- جاترە
- Chinese
- 普通百里香, 南欧百里香, 花园百里香, 英国百里香
- Croatian
- Timijan
- Czech
- Tymián obecný, Mateřídouška obecná
- Danish
- Have-Timian, Timian
- dsb
- Pšawy płonjak
- Dutch
- Echte tijm
- English
- Garden thyme, Common thyme, English thyme, Thyme
- Esperanto
- Ordinara timiano
- Estonian
- Aed-liivatee, Tüümian
- Finnish
- Timjami, Tarha-ajuruoho
- French
- Thym commun, Farigoule, Frigoule
- frr
- Echt Timijuun
- Galician
- Tomiño, Tomentelo
- German
- Echter Thymian, Gartenthymian, Kuttelkraut, Römischer Quendel, Thym Commun
- Haitian Creole
- Ten
- Hebrew
- בת קורנית פשוטה, בת קורנית מצויה
- hsb
- Prawa babyduška, Demjanćik
- Hungarian
- Kerti kakukkfű
- Igbo
- Thyme
- Indonesian
- Herba timi
- Italian
- Timo
- Japanese
- タチジャコウソウ, タイム
- Korean
- 타임, 선백리향
- Latvian
- Timiāns
- Lithuanian
- Vaistinis čiobrelis, Thym Commun
- Luxembourgish
- Teimerjännchen, Thym, Thymian
- Macedonian
- Тимјан, Тимијан
- Malay
- Timi
- mwl
- L tomilho
- myv
- Цяпор тикше
- Occitan
- Badassa, Baiassa, Farigola, Frigola, És una planta que té veri
- Pashto
- سعتر
- Persian
- آویشن, اوشه, اویشن
- Polish
- Macierzanka tymianek, Macierzanka pospolita, Tymian, Tymianek pospolity, Tymianek właściwy
- Portuguese
- Tomilho, Tomilho-vulgar
- Romanian
- Cimbru de câmp
- Russian
- Тимьян обыкновенный
- Serbian
- Тимијан
- Slovak
- Dúška tymianová
- Slovenian
- Vrtna materina dušica
- Spanish
- Tomillo, Tomillo Común, Tomillo limonero
- Swedish
- Kryddtimjan, Thym Commun, Äkta timjan
- Urdu
- حاشا
- Welsh
- Teim y gerddi
Synonyms
- Origanum thymus Kuntze
- Thymus collinus Salisb.
Flowers
- In flower
- March to May (from 675 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Subshrub
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Lower 48 states: introduced
Photos
FlowerPhoto: Ina Siebert, CC0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Joan Simon, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: John Barkla, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Isidre blanc, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Ryan McMinds, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Abalg, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: patrick Nosetto, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF 
Photo: Joe Potter Butler, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Christian Ferrer, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Georges Olioso, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF 
Photo: Jenny Saito, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Christian Ferrer, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
More in Thymus
- Breckland thymeThymus serpyllumLamiaceae
- Large thymeThymus pulegioidesLamiaceae
- Mother of thymeThymus praecoxLamiaceae
- Thymus herba-baronaLamiaceae
- Thymus caespititiusLamiaceae
- Thymus zygisLamiaceae
- Thymus camphoratusLamiaceae
- Thymus kosteleckyanusLamiaceae
- Citrus thymeThymus × citriodorusLamiaceae
- Thymus carnosusLamiaceae
- Mastic thymeThymus mastichinaLamiaceae
- Thymus adamoviciiLamiaceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.