MENTHA 



MENTHA 



2035 



of the fonns. They propagate readily by cuttings and 

 division; some of them produce stolons. 



A. Plant a miniature creeper. 



1. Requienii, Benth. A minute creeping herb from 

 Corsica, used as a carpeter: sts. filiform, ascending: 

 Ivs. small, stalked, orbicular: fls. mauve or pale purple 

 in loose few-fid. whorls: plant peppermint-scented. 



AA. Plant larger, erect or laU, or in forms of some 



species perhaps compact. 

 B. Whorls of fls. in terminal spikes or some in Hie •'. 

 upper axils. *-^ 



C. Spikes thick: Ivs. petioled. 

 D. Lvs. lanceolate, acute. 



2. piperita, Linn. Peppermint. Perennial by 

 rvmners and rootstocks: sts. erect or ascending, 1-3 

 ft. high, branched, glabrous: lvs. lanceolate, acute, 

 sharply serrate, 1-3 in. long, glabrous or pubescent 

 on the veins beneath, punctate, with minute oil 

 globules: fls. in thick, tenninal spikes, 1-3 in. long 

 in fr., the central spike finally exceeded by the 

 lateral ones; calyx glabrous below, its sharp teeth 

 usually ciliate; corolla purple, rarely white, gla- 

 brous. Eu. — Intro, into cult, from England and 

 sometimes naturalized in moist ground. Known as 

 "American mint" or "state mint" in N. Y. 



Var. officinalis, Sole. White Mint. Slender, 1-2 

 ft. high: lvs. 1-2 in. long: sts. and foliage light- 

 colored. Not known in wild state; long cult, in 

 England and .sparingly intro. into cult, 

 in .\mer. 



^'ar. vulgaris. Sole. Black Mint. 

 Rather stout, 2-3 ft. high: lvs. 2-3'^ 

 in. long: sts. usually purple and foliage 

 dark-colored. Native in England. — Cult. 

 in recent years in England, Saxony and 

 Amer. 



DD. Lvs. ovale or subcordate. 



3. citrata, Ehrh. Bergamot Mint. 

 Perennial by leafy stolons, glabrous 

 throughout : st. decumbent, 1-2 ft. long, 

 branched: Ivs. thin, broadly ovate and 

 obtuse or the uppermost lanceolate and 

 acute: fls. in the uppermo.st axils and in 

 short, den.se, tenninal spikes; calyx gla- 

 brous, with subulate teeth; corolla gla- 

 brous. Sparingly naturalized from Eu. 

 in X. y., N. J., Fla. and Ohio.— The fra- 

 grant lemon-scented oil is distilled for 

 use in making perfumes. 



cc. Spikes slender, interrupted: lvs. sessile or nearly so. 



D. Plant glabrous: lvs. lanceolate. 



4. spicata, Linn. (M. nridis, Linn.). Spearmint. 

 Fig. 23.")9. Perennial by leafy stolons: st. erect, with 

 ascending branches 1-2 ft. high: lvs. lanceolate, sharply 

 serrate, 2J^ in. or less in length: whorls of fls. in narrow, 

 interrupted spikes 2-4 in. long, the central spike exceed- 

 ing the lateral ones; calyx-teeth hirsute or glabrate. 

 Widely naturalized about old gardens throughout the 

 older settled parts of the U. S.; native in Eu. and 

 Asia. 



DD. Plant pubescent: lvs. elliptic or ovate-oblong. 



5. rotundifdlia, Huds. Rou.vd-leaved Mint. Peren- 

 nial by leafy stolons, pubescent throughout, sr>me- 

 what viscid: sts. slender, erect or a-scending, simple or 



2359. Mentha spicata 



branched, 20-30 in. high : lvs. subcordate at base, mostly 

 obtu.se, crenate-serrate, 1-2 in. long and about two- 

 thirds as wide, reticulated beneath: fls, in dense or 

 interrupted spikes 2-4 in. long; calyx pubescent; 

 corolla puberulent. Naturalized from Eu., in moist 

 waste places from Maine to New Mex. — Sometimes 

 used as a substitute for peppermint or spearmint. Var. 

 variegata, Hort., with variegated lvs., is used in low 

 borders. 



BB. Whorls of fls. all axillary. 

 C. Plants usually dccumbeid or prostrate at base: fls. 



nearly sessile. 

 6. canadensis, Linn. American Wild Mint. Peren- 

 nial by runners and rootstocks: st. usually pubescent, 

 with spreailing hairs, erect or ascending, simple or 

 branched, 6-30 in. high: lvs. ovate-oblong or lanceo- 

 late, glabrous or nearly so, 2-3 in. long, slender- 

 petioled, the petioles often exceeding the nearly 

 I sessile whorls of light purple fls. : calyx pubescent. 

 In wet soil or in water at the margins of streams. 

 gS New Bruns. to Brit. Col. and southward to Va. and 

 New Mex. — Often called peppermint, for which it is 

 frequently mistaken and for which it is sometimes 

 used as a substitute. It is variable in habit and also 

 in the character of its oil. 



7. Pulegium, Linn. Pennykoyal. Prostrate, 

 much branched: lvs. small, about J^in. or less long, 

 round-oval, entire or slightly crenate, hairy: fls. in 

 dense axillary whorls, small, bluish lilac; mouth of 

 calyx closed by hairs; upper lobe of corolla notched. 

 In wet places, Eu. and W. Asia, and intro. elsewhere. 

 Var. gibraitarica, Hort., is a dwarf compact form 

 with deep green foliage which is sometimes varie- 

 gated, used in rock-gardens and also in geometrical 

 designs. — M. Pulegium has a strong and agreeable 

 odor ; lvs. sometimes used for seasoning. It is some- 

 times grown in kitchen-gardens, pre- 

 ferring a moist rather stiff soil. Prop, 

 by division. The American penny- 

 royal is Hedeoma pulegioides. The oil 

 of the two is similar. 



cc. Plants somewhat rigidly erect: fls. 

 distinctly pedicelled. 



8. arvensis var. piperascens, Malin- 

 vaud. Japanese Mint. Perennial 

 by running rootstocks, puberulent or 

 finely pubescent throughout: sts. 

 erect, with numerous branches, 2-3 

 ft. high: Ivs. lanceolate and acute to 

 broadly oblong and obtuse, narrowed 

 at the base, l}-^-3J^ in. long, sharply 

 serrate, with low teeth: fls. in rather 

 loose, axillary whorls, in distinctly 

 jiedicellate umbels, usually shorter 

 than the slender petioles; calyx pubes- 

 cent, its subulate teeth about half as 

 long as the tube; corolla puberulent. This cult, variety 

 is larger than M. arvensis itself, with larger lvs., and 

 yields more oil. The species, M. arvensis, Linn., is nat- 

 uralized widely from Eu. 



Culture of mints for oil. 



Peppermint, the most prominent economic species of 

 mint, ranks as one of the most important of all jilants 

 in the production of essential oils. It was origiuu-lly 

 native in Great Britain and possibly in continental 

 Europe, but is now widely naturalized, growing in 

 many places on both continents like a native plant. 

 There is no record of it in America previous to its intro- 

 duction to Connecticut in the early part of the eight- 

 eenth century. From there it was taken to western 

 New York and to the Western Reserve in Ohio, and in 

 183.5 "roots" were taken from Ohio to Pigeon Prairie, 



-Spearmint. 



