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Since late 1997 I have been coordinating DNA studies of the thymes in my National Plant Collection®.
The first study was carried out by Dr. Madan Thangavelu, who at that time was at Wye College and is currently at the
Medical Research Council, Cambridge.
The intention is to study the DNA of all the thymes in my Collection. This is a long term project, possibly over several years.
The best results are obtained when the plants are growing fast, in late spring and late summer, using small amounts of the youngest leaves.
Older leaves give too much contamination from the oils present and the results are poor.
Many thymes have been assigned to the wrong species and DNA studies will help sort out the present muddle.
1997 DNA Study
DNA profiles for the study carried out in 1997. Those on the right delineate at specific level and those
on the left show differences within a species. The names in parentheses refer to the former invalid
names
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Group B are the grey leaved, orange scented bushy thymes and although they have very similar profiles,
it is apparent that they are distinct cultivars, T. 'Fragrantissimus' and T.'Provence'.
Group C are demonstrated to be cultivars of T. vulgaris (Group A), with identical profiles in both studies,
confirming that all samples are the same plant, which has now been renamed Thymus vulgaris 'Golden Pins'.
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