The genus has a subcosmopolitan distribution across Europe, Africa – (Southern Africa), Asia, Australia – Oceania, North America and South America.[6][7] Its species can be found in many environments, but most grow best in wet environments and moist soils.
Description
Flowering verticillasters of a spearmint.
Mints are aromatic, almost exclusively perennialherbs. They have wide-spreading underground and overground stolons[8] and erect, square,[9] branched stems. Mints will grow 10–120 cm (4–48 inches) tall and can spread over an indeterminate area. Due to their tendency to spread unchecked, some mints are considered invasive.[10]
The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, from oblong to lanceolate, often downy, and with a serrated margin. Leaf colors range from dark green and gray-green to purple, blue, and sometimes pale yellow.[6]
The flowers are produced in long bracts from leaf axils.[11] They are white to purple and produced in false whorls called verticillasters. The corolla is two-lipped with four subequal lobes, the upper lobe usually the largest. The fruit is a nutlet, containing one to four seeds.
Taxonomy
Mentha is a member of the tribe Mentheae in the subfamilyNepetoideae. The tribe contains about 65 genera, and relationships within it remain obscure.[4] Authors have disagreed on the circumscription of Mentha. For example, M. cervina has been placed in Pulegium and Preslia, and M. cunninghamii has been placed in Micromeria.[12] In 2004, a molecular phylogenetic study indicated that both M. cervina and M. cunninghamii should be included in Mentha.[5] However, M. cunninghamii was excluded in a 2007 treatment of the genus.[12]
More than 3,000 names have been published in the genus Mentha, at ranks from species to forms, the majority of which are regarded as synonyms or illegitimate names. The taxonomy of the genus is made difficult because many species hybridize readily, or are themselves derived from possibly ancient hybridization events. Seeds from hybrids give rise to variable offspring, which may spread through vegetative propagation. The variability has led to what has been described as "paroxysms of species and subspecific taxa"; for example, one taxonomist published 434 new mint taxa for central Europe alone between 1911 and 1916.[12] Recent sources recognize between 18[12] and 24[1] species.[13]
The Mentha × piperita hybrid known as "chocolate mint"
The mint genus has a large grouping of recognized hybrids. Those accepted by Plants of the World Online are listed below.[1] Parent species are taken from Tucker & Naczi (2007).[12] Synonyms, along with cultivars and varieties where available, are included within the specific nothospecies.
Mentha × carinthiaca Host - M. arvensis × M. suaveolens
Mentha × dalmatica Tausch - M. arvensis × M. longifolia
Mentha × dumetorum Schult. - M. aquatica × M. longifolia
Mentha × gayeri Trautm. - M. longifolia × M. spicata × M. suaveolens
Mentha × gracilis Sole (syn. Mentha × gentilis) - M. arvensis × M. spicata – ginger mint, Scotch spearmint
Mentha × kuemmerlei Trautm. - M. aquatica × M. spicata × M. suaveolens
Mentha × locyana Borbás - M. longifolia × M. verticillata
Mentha × piperita L. - M. aquatica × M. spicata – peppermint, chocolate mint
Mentha × pyramidalis Ten. - M. aquatica × M. microphylla
Mentha × rotundifolia (L.) Huds. - M. longifolia × M. suaveolens – false apple mint
Mentha × verticillata L. - M. aquatica × M. arvensis
Mentha × villosa Huds. (syn. M. nemorosa) - M. spicata × M. suaveolens – large apple mint, foxtail mint, hairy mint, woolly mint, Cuban mint, mojito mint, and yerba buena in Cuba
Mentha × villosa-nervata Opiz - M. longifolia × M. spicata – sharp-toothed mint
Mentha × wirtgeniana F.W.Schultz (syn. Mentha × smithiana) - M. aquatica × M. arvensis × M. spicata – red raripila mint
Common names and cultivars
There are hundreds of common English names for species and cultivars of Mentha. These include:
Apple mint - Mentha suaveolens and Mentha × rotundifolia
Banana mint - Mentha arvensis 'Banana'
Bowles mint - Mentha villosa and Mentha × villosa 'Alopecuroides'
Canada mint - Mentha canadensis
Chocolate mint - Mentha × piperita 'Chocolate'
Corsican mint - Mentha requienii
Cuba mint - Mentha x villosa
Curly mint - Mentha spicata 'Curly'
Eau de Cologne mint - Mentha × piperita 'Citrata'
Field mint - Mentha arvensis
Flea mint - Mentha requienii
Ginger mint - Mentha × gracilis
Gray mint - Mentha longifolia
Green mint - Mentha spicata
Grey mint - Mentha longifolia
Japanese peppermint - Mentha arvensis var. piperascens
Japanese mint or Japanese medicine mint - Mentha spicata 'Abura'
Kiwi mint - Mentha cunninghamii
Lemon mint - Mentha x piperita var. citrata and Mentha X gentilis
Marsh mint - Mentha aquatica
Meadow mint - Mentha x gracilis and Mentha arvensis
Mojito mint - Mentha Spicata 'Mojito'
Moroccan mint - Mentha spicata var. crispa 'Moroccan' and mints collected in Morocco
Pennyroyal - Mentha pulegium
Peppermint - Mentha × piperita and sometimes Mentha requienii
Pineapple mint - Mentha suaveolens 'Variegata' and Mentha suaveolens 'Pineapple'
Polemint - Mentha pulegium
Red raripila mint - Mentha × wirtgeniana
Round leaf mint - Mentha suaveolens
Spearmint - Mentha spicata
Strawberry mint - Mentha × piperita 'Strawberry'
Swiss mint - Mentha × piperita 'Swiss'
Tall mint - Mentha × wirtgeniana
Tea mint - Mentha × verticillata
Toothmint - Mentha × smithiana
Water mint - Mentha aquatica
Woolly mint - Mentha × rotundifolia
Cultivation
Mentha x gracilis and M. rotundifolia: The steel ring is to control the spread of the plant.
All mints thrive near pools of water, lakes, rivers, and cool moist spots in partial shade.[25] In general, mints tolerate a wide range of conditions, and can also be grown in full sun. Mint grows all year round.[26]
They are fast-growing, extending their reach along surfaces through a network of runners. Due to their speedy growth, one plant of each desired mint, along with a little care, will provide more than enough mint for home use. Some mint species are more invasive than others. Even with the less invasive mints, care should be taken when mixing any mint with any other plants, lest the mint take over. To control mints in an open environment, they should be planted in deep, bottomless containers sunk in the ground, or planted above ground in tubs and barrels.[25]
Some mints can be propagated by seed, but growth from seed can be an unreliable method for raising mint for two reasons: mint seeds are highly variable — one might not end up with what one supposed was planted[25] — and some mint varieties are sterile. It is more effective to take and plant cuttings from the runners of healthy mints.
The most common and popular mints for commercial cultivation are peppermint (Mentha × piperita), native spearmint (Mentha spicata), Scotch spearmint (Mentha x gracilis), and cornmint (Mentha arvensis);[27] also (more recently) apple mint (Mentha suaveolens).
Mints are supposed to make good companion plants, repelling pesty insects and attracting beneficial ones. They are susceptible to whitefly and aphids.
Harvesting of mint leaves can be done at any time. Fresh leaves should be used immediately or stored up to a few days in plastic bags in a refrigerator. Optionally, leaves can be frozen in ice cube trays. Dried mint leaves should be stored in an airtight container placed in a cool, dark, dry area.[28]
Uses
This section may lack focus or may be about more than one topic. In particular, it treats the genus Mentha ("mint") as if it were a single kind of plant, whereas many of the uses apply only to one species or cultivated variety of the genus. Please help improve this article, possibly by splitting the section, or discuss this issue on the talk page. (July 2019)
Culinary
A jar of mint jelly, a traditional condiment served with lamb dishesLimonana (mint lemonade) served in Damascus, Syria
The leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint. Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint when storage of the mint is not a problem. The leaves have a warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool aftertaste, and are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams. In Middle Eastern cuisine, mint is used in lamb dishes, while in British cuisine and American cuisine, mint sauce and mint jelly are used, respectively. Mint (pudina) is a staple in Indian cuisine, used for flavouring curries and other dishes.
Mint is a necessary ingredient in Touareg tea, a popular tea in northern African and Arab countries. Alcoholic drinks sometimes feature mint for flavor or garnish, such as the mint julep and the mojito. Crème de menthe is a mint-flavored liqueur used in drinks such as the grasshopper.
Mint essential oil and menthol are extensively used as flavorings in breath fresheners, drinks, antiseptic mouth rinses, toothpaste, chewing gum, desserts, and candies, such as mint (candy) and mint chocolate. The substances that give the mints their characteristic aromas and flavors are menthol (the main aroma of peppermint and Japanese peppermint) and pulegone (in pennyroyal and Corsican mint). The compound primarily responsible for the aroma and flavor of spearmint is L-carvone.
Mints are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including buff ermine moths. It is also eaten by beetles such as Chrysolina coerulans (blue mint beetle)[29][30] and Mint leaf beetle.[31]
Menthol from mint essential oil (40–90%) is an ingredient of many cosmetics and some perfumes. Menthol and mint essential oil are also used in aromatherapy which may have clinical use to alleviate post-surgery nausea.[33][35]
Mint oil is also used as an environmentally friendlyinsecticide for its ability to kill some common pests such as wasps, hornets, ants, and cockroaches.[37]
Room scent and aromatherapy
Known in Greek mythology as the herb of hospitality,[38] one of mint's first known uses in Europe was as a room deodorizer.[39] The herb was strewn across floors to cover the smell of the hard-packed soil. Stepping on the mint helped to spread its scent through the room. Today, it is more commonly used for aromatherapy through the use of essential oils.
The word "mint" descends from the Latin word mentha or menta,[40] which is rooted in the Greek words μίνθαmintha, μίνθηminthē or μίντηmintē meaning "spearmint".[2] The plant was personified in Greek mythology as Minthe, a nymph who was beloved by Hades and was transformed into a mint plant by either Persephone or Demeter. This, in turn, ultimately derived from a proto-Indo-European root that is also the origin of the Sanskrit-mantha, mathana (premna serratifolia).
References to "mint leaves", without a qualifier like "peppermint" or "apple mint", generally refer to spearmint leaves.
The taxonomic family Lamiaceae is known as the mint family. It includes many other aromatic herbs, including most of the more common cooking herbs, such as basil, rosemary, sage, oregano, and catnip.
As an English colloquial term, any small mint-flavored confectionery item can be called a mint.[42]
In common usage, other plants with fragrant leaves may be called "mint", although they are not in the mint family:
†Mentha pliocenicafossil seeds have been excavated in Pliocene deposits of Dvorets on the right bank of the Dnieper river between the cities of Rechitsa and Loyew, in south-eastern Belarus. The fossil seeds are similar to the seeds of Mentha aquatica and Mentha arvensis.[43]
References
^ abcde"Mentha L."Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ abHarley, Raymond M.; Atkins, Sandy; Budantsev, Andrey L.; Cantino, Philip D.; Conn, Barry J.; Grayer, Renée J.; Harley, Madeline M.; de Kok, Rogier P.J.; Krestovskaja, Tatyana V. (2004). "Labiatae". In Kubitzki, Klaus; Kadereit, Joachim W. (eds.). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. Vol. VII. Berlin; Heidelberg, Germany: Springer-Verlag. pp. 167–275. ISBN978-3-540-40593-1.
^ abBunsawat, Jiranan; Elliott, Natalina E.; Hertweck, Kate L.; Sproles, Elizabeth; Alice, Lawrence A. (2004). "Phylogenetics of Mentha (Lamiaceae): Evidence from Chloroplast DNA Sequences". Systematic Botany. 29 (4): 959–964. doi:10.1600/0363644042450973. JSTOR25064024. S2CID86816849.
^ abcdeTucker, Arthur O.; Naczi, Robert F. C. (2007). "Mentha: An Overview of its Classification and Relationships". In Lawrence, Brian M. (ed.). Mint: The Genus Mentha. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group. pp. 1–39. ISBN978-0-8493-0779-9.
^"Minted". 12 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-31. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
^Wees, David (4 March 2015) [first published online 8 April 2013]. "Mint, Economic Importance". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
^"Mint leaf beetle". gardenersworld.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
^Sanderson, Helen; Renfrew, Jane M. (2005). Prance, Ghillean; Nesbitt, Mark (eds.). The Cultural History of Plants. Routledge. p. 106. ISBN0415927463.
^ abcd"Peppermint oil". National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, US National Institutes of Health. 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
^Jamila, F.; Mostafa, E. (2014). "Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by people in Oriental Morocco to manage various ailments". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 154 (1): 76–87. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2014.03.016. PMID24685583.
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