Thyme

Thyme

　　Thyme, also known as wild thyme, is a high-quality forage and medicinal honey-producing wild herb that grows abundantly in the Liupan Mountain area. Its stems are vine-like, growing no taller than a foot, sprawling along the ground. The leaves are small and slender, and the plant is known to help prevent and relieve summer heat, nourish the liver and improve vision, warm the middle energizer and dispel cold, soothe the stomach and alleviate vomiting, expel wind and relieve pain, as well as nourish the stomach and moisten the lungs

In spring and summer, vast fields of thyme turn lush green like a carpet, with its tiny purple flowers releasing an enticing fragrance that wafts on the breeze, attracting bees to come and make honey. Local residents have long used thyme as a tea substitute. Around the Dragon Boat Festival, when the thyme ripens, people gather its stems and leaves from the wild, wash off the dirt, dry them over low heat, then rub them into pieces before steeping them in boiling water to make a refreshing and sweet thyme tea. Thyme tea is a common beverage among locals in Xihai Gu for beating the summer heat and quenching thirst. In recent years, some have developed a scientifically formulated "thyme health tea," which has become very popular among consumers

The sheep herded in the mountainous regions around Yunwu Mountain, Moon Mountain, West China Mountain, South China Mountain, and Tan Mountain in Xihai Gu often graze on thyme, which gives their meat a delicious flavor with little gamey or rank taste. (Yinchuan)