SPEARMINT 



from a single fibrous root and is neither so tall nor so 

 brilliant as its red brother the Bee-Balm; but it 

 possesses a delicate beauty in mass which is all its 

 own. 



SPEARMINT. GARDEN MINT 



Mentha spicdta. Mentha viridis 



Mentha, from a nymph of that name, fabled to have 

 been changed into Mint by Proserpine. 



Perennial by leafy stolons. Natural- 

 ized from Europe. A plant found in 

 wet places near cultivated grounds, and 

 roadside streams and ditches. 



Stems. — Square, smooth, branching; 

 one to two feet high, often stained with 

 purple. 



Leaves. — Opposite, ovate or narrowly 

 oblong, serrate, acute, noticeably veined, 

 short-petioled; strong aromatic taste 

 and used as a flavoring for meat sauces 

 and cooling drinks. ^^^^^f^a/'"''" 



Flowers. — Small, pale bluish or pinkish 

 purple, in whorls, forming terminal, interrupted, slender, 

 acute spikes, two to six inches long; the central spike 

 longer than the lateral ones. 



Calyx. — Minute, bell-shaped, five-toothed. 



Corolla. — Small, tubular, four-cleft, slightly irregular, 

 without hairs. 



Stamens. — Four, equal. 



Pistil. — Ovary four-lobed, producing four nutlets, 

 ovoid, smooth. 



Spearmint is one of our Sweet Herbs naturalized 

 from Europe, and now found very generally growing 



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