Basil Thyme Clinopodium acinos
Basil Thyme (Clinopodium acinos) is a delicate, aromatic annual of open, dry calcareous and sandy soils, producing small violet flowers from May to September. It has declined significantly across Britain and is now largely restricted to a handful of regions with suitable conditions. Suffolk’s Breckland is a national stronghold, where the characteristic open, disturbed chalk and sand habitats – maintained by rabbits, conservation grazing, and cultivation – provide ideal conditions. It is also occasionally recorded on Suffolk’s chalky boulder clay margins. The species is a good indicator of low-competition, sun-warmed ground with a long history of disturbance. Image: © Alex Hyde / Back from the Brink, Flickr.
Find out more: iNaturalist, Plantlife, Online Atlas of British and Irish Flora
Suffolk’s Priority Fern and Flowering Plant Species
Key
Listed as a conservation priority in Suffolk’s Biodiversity Action Plan.
Closely associated with Suffolk’s landscape and natural identity.
Identified as a key priority for recovery under Suffolk’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
Has a Species of the Month article attached.
