Its small, oval leaves give it a thyme-like appearance, but the musty scent is quite unlike the delicate aroma of thyme.

Cat thyme is a mounding, tender perennial with grey-green leaves tipped by fragrant pink flowers in summer.

The flowers, appearing between July and September in the northern hemisphere, are in one-sided spikes, the corollas are crimson in color.

The leaves and younger branches when fresh, on being rubbed emit a volatile, pungent, aromatic smell, which excites sneezing, but in taste they are somewhat bitter, accompanied with a sensation of heat.

Teucrium mare is part of a complex of three subspecies : Quantitative and qualitative differences in the volatile components within and between taxa have been found.