Wild Thyme, Or Mother Of Thyme

Thymus serpyllum

HRB-0299Entry “WILD THYME, OR MOTHER OF THYME” in the 1850 textNot in the 1652 first edition: added by Culpeper in 1653 or by a later editor up to 1850

Open in the Concordance

Old claims, quoted verbatim: not medical advice. A warning sits above the claims and never hides them; no warning does not mean safe, only that no source here has flagged the plant.

Substance of concernEFSA: 1,8-cineole, Camphor, carvacrolEFSA’s list of substances, not a danger rating. Checked 26 October 2026.

Historical correspondence. Ruled by Venus, by Culpeper. A traditional astrological assignment, kept apart from the modern evidence; it is not a finding.

What it does, in Culpeper: Stops vomiting

Culpeper’s claims about it: 8, under 8 headings, 1 where he says it harms or causes

  1. Bleeding (to stay)CLM-000204
    It helps spitting and voiding of blood, coughing, and vomiting;
    QUO-000178Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  2. CrampCLM-000647
    It provokes urine and the terms, and eases the griping pain of the belly, cramps, ruptures, and inflamation of the liver.
    QUO-000518Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  3. LiverCLM-001232
    It provokes urine and the terms, and eases the griping pain of the belly, cramps, ruptures, and inflamation of the liver.
    QUO-000518Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  4. Liver — (inflammation of)CLM-0023521850 index, p. 183
    It provokes urine and the terms, and eases the griping pain of the belly, cramps, ruptures, and inflamation of the liver.
    QUO-000518Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  5. RupturesCLM-001479
    It provokes urine and the terms, and eases the griping pain of the belly, cramps, ruptures, and inflamation of the liver.
    QUO-000518Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  6. StomachCLM-001662
    it comforts and strengthens the head, stomach, reins, and womb, expels wind, and breaks the stone.
    QUO-001088Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  7. StoneCLM-001754
    it comforts and strengthens the head, stomach, reins, and womb, expels wind, and breaks the stone.
    QUO-001088Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance
  8. Vomiting (to stay)CLM-002051
    It helps spitting and voiding of blood, coughing, and vomiting;
    QUO-000178Papers and the EMA’s verdict, in the Concordance

Source

Nicholas Culpeper, The Complete Herbal, a new edition (London: Thomas Kelly, 1850). Project Gutenberg eBook #49513. SRC-CUL-1850

Quotations are verbatim from the 1850 text, line breaks joined. Modern research and the European regulator’s verdict on each claim are on the Concordance page, kept apart from this historical record.