The Wash is the square-mouthed estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, "where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire". It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom. It is listed as a Ramsar site as being an important wetland area.
The Wash looks on the map like a large bite out of the coastline of eastern England. It separates the curved coast of East Anglia from Lincolnshire. It is formed by a large bay with three roughly straight sides meeting at right angles, each about 25 kilometres (15 miles) in length. All the eastern coast of the Wash is in Norfolk, and goes from Hunstanton in the north to the mouth of the River Great Ouse at King's Lynn in the south. The coast on the opposite side goes from Gibraltar Point to the mouth of the River Welland and is all in Lincolnshire. The southern coast goes roughly northwest-southeast, joining these two river mouths. In the middle is the mouth of a third river, the River Nene.
The most famous thing that people remember about the Wash is that "King John lost his crown in the Wash". This is because, according to reports from the time, King John travelled from Spalding in Lincolnshire to Bishop's Lynn, in Norfolk in the year 1216. He became ill and decided to go back. While he took the longer route through Wisbech, he sent his luggage, including his crown jewels, along the seashore and across the mouth of the Wellstream where the water was not deep. This route was only safe when the tide was low. The horse-drawn wagons moved too slowly for the incoming tide, and many were lost. The whole area at the time was an extensive wetland known as The Fens, which was later drained. It is close to sea level.
Thar Desert
The Thar Desert (, ), also known as the Big Indian Desert, is a desert. About 85 per cent is in western Republic of India and the rest in southeastern Pakistan.
It is mostly in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It extends into the southern portion of Haryana and Punjab states and into northern Gujarat state. In Pakistan, the desert covers eastern Sindh province and the southeastern portion of Pakistan's Punjab province. In Pakistan's Punjab province it is known as the Cholistan desert. Tharparkar District of province Sindh Pakistan is also a part of Thar desert. The Thar Desert is bounded on the northwest by the Sutlej River, on the east by the Aravalli Range, on the south by the salt marsh known as the Rann of Kachchh (parts of which are sometimes included in the Thar), and on the west by the Indus River.
Its boundary to the large thorny steppe to the north is not well defined. Depending on what areas are included or excluded, the nominal size of the Thar can vary.
List of shrubs
Those marked * can also develop into tree form.
Thyme
Thyme ("Thymus") (pronounced "time") is a genus of perennial plants. There are about 350 different species of thyme. They are herbaceous plants and sub-shrubs. They can grow to about 40 cm tall. They are the family Lamiaceae and native to Europe, North Africa and Asia.
The stems are usually narrow, sometimes even wiry. The leaves are evergreen in most species. They are arranged in opposite pairs, oval, entire, and small, 4–20 mm long. The flowers are in dense terminal heads, with an uneven calyx, with the upper lip three-lobed, and the lower cleft; the corolla is tubular, 4–10 mm long, and white, pink or purple.
"Thymus" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including "Chionodes distinctella" and "Coleophora" species.
Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples. They believed that thyme was a source of courage. It was thought that the spread of thyme throughout Europe was thanks to the Romans, as they used it to purify their rooms. In the European Middle Ages, the herb was placed under pillows. This was done to help sleep and ward off nightmares. (Huxley 1992). In this period, women would also often give knights and warriors gifts that included thyme leaves. People believed it would bring courage to the bearer. Thyme was also used as incense and placed on coffins during funerals as it was supposed to assure passage into the next life.
Thyme is widely grown as a herb. Usually it is grown for its strong flavour, which is due to its content of thymol.
Thyme likes a hot sunny location with good-draining soil. It is planted in the spring and later grows as a perennial. It can be propagated by seed, cuttings, or by dividing rooted sections of the plant. It tolerates drought well.
Thyme keeps its flavour on drying better than many other herbs.
Thyme is widely used for cooking. Thyme is a basic ingredient in French and Italian cuisines, and in those derived from them. It is also widely used in Caribbean cuisine.
Thyme is often used to flavour meats, soups and stews. It has a particular affinity to and is often used as a primary flavour with lamb, tomatoes and eggs.
Thyme, while flavourful, does not overpower and blends well with other herbs and spices. In French cuisine, along with bay and parsley it is a common component of the "bouquet garni", and of "herbes de Provence". In some Middle Eastern countries, the condiment "za'atar" contains thyme as a vital ingredient.
Thyme is sold both fresh and dried. The fresh form is more flavourful but also less convenient; storage life is rarely more than a week. While summer-seasonal, fresh thyme is often available year-round. Fresh thyme is commonly sold in bunches of sprigs. A sprig is a single stem snipped from the plant. It is composed of a woody stem with paired leaf or flower clusters ("leaves") spaced ½ to 1" apart. A recipe may measure thyme by the bunch (or fraction thereof), or by the sprig, or by the tablespoon or teaspoon. If the recipe does not specify fresh or dried, assume that it means fresh.
Thyme retains its flavour on drying better than many other herbs. Dried, and especially powdered thyme occupies less space than fresh, so less of it is required when substituted in a recipe. As with bay, thyme is slow to release its flavours so it is usually added early in the cooking process.
The essential oil of common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is made up of 20-55% thymol. Thymol, an antiseptic, is the main active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash. Before the advent of modern antibiotics, it was used to medicate bandages. It has also been shown to be effective against the fungus that commonly infects toenails.
A tea made by infusing the herb in water can be used for cough and bronchitis. Medicinally thyme is used for respiratory infections. Because it is antiseptic, thyme boiled in water and cooled is very effective against inflammation of the throat. The inflammation will normally disappear in 2 – 5 days. Other infections and wounds can be dripped with thyme.
In traditional Jamaican childbirth practice, thyme tea is given to the mother after delivery of the baby. Its oxytocin-like effect causes uterine contractions and more rapid delivery of the placenta but this was said by Sheila Kitzinger to cause an increased prevalence of retained placenta.
"Thymus vulgaris" (common thyme or garden thyme) is a commonly used culinary herb. It also has medicinal uses. Common thyme is a Mediterranean perennial which is best suited to well-drained soils and enjoys full sun.
"Thymus herba-barona" (caraway thyme) is used both as a culinary herb and a groundcover, and has a strong caraway scent due to the chemical carvone.
"Thymus × citriodorus" (citrus thyme; hybrid "T. pulegioides" × "T. vulgaris") is also a popular culinary herb, with cultivars selected with flavours of various "Citrus" fruit (lemon thyme, etc.)
"Thymus pseudolanuginosus" (woolly thyme) is not a culinary herb, but is grown as a ground cover.