MINT FAMILY. Labiatse. 



The genus Mentha is a tribe of odorous perennial herbs 

 with little tubular flowers mostly in close clusters ; the 

 plant-stems square. Almost all the species are natural- 

 ized from Europe, and there are many hybrids. Name 

 from MlvQrj (of Theophrastus), a Nymph. The mints are 

 commonly fertilized by the order Diptera (the flies), and 

 particularly by the genera SyrphicUe and Bombylidce. 



u ««_. Flowers in rather crowded, slender, 



Horse Mint t . ' 



Mentha leafless spikes, sometimes disconnected. 



sylvestris Leaves ovate-oblong and ovate lance- 



Pale purple shaped, almost stemless, sharp-pointed 

 July-August anc j s h ar piy toothed, often smooth above, 

 but the whole plant generally finely white-haired. Plant- 

 stem square. 18 inches high. Roadsides and field- 

 borders. Pa. and N. J. The var. alopccuroides with 

 larger leaves, stemless, broadly oval and obtuse, often 

 approaching heart-shape, coarsely toothed and more 

 veiny. Southern N. Y. , Pa. , and N. J. , west to Mo. 



Flowers variable in depth of color ; clus- 

 spearmint ^ ers crowded like those of the preced- 



Mentha viridis . u , • „ , 



p - . ing species, but especially narrow and 



July-August pointed. Plant-stem green, square, and 



nearly smooth. Leaves oblong or ovate 

 lance-shaped, unevenly toothed and stemless or very 

 nearly so. 12-20 inches high or more. Wet places and 

 roadsides in cultivated ground, everywhere. 

 Peppermint Flowers in narrow, loose, disconnected, 



Mentha leafless, terminal spikes, and often on a 



piperita rather long stem proceeding from between 



Pale purple the plant-stem and leaf-stem. Leaves 

 u y- ugus long-ovate, deep green, smooth, and regu- 

 larly toothed, slightly rough beneath, and very hot- 

 tasting. Plant-stem purplish, 18-36 inches high. Along 

 brooks and in cultivated ground everywhere. 



The flowers in a roundish or nearly 

 Mentha oblong terminal cluster ; frequently there 



aquatica are one or more clusters between the 



Pale purple plant-stem and the upper leaf -stems. 

 August- Leaves ovate or round-ovate. The plant 



is characterized by downy hairs (rarely it 

 is smoothish) which generally point downward. Wet 



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