mint

• • notes

Uses:

  • Eat fresh
  • Tea – dried and fresh
  • Antiseptic & decongestant
  • Essential oil can cause allergic reaction – especially pennyroyal

Propagation & cultivation

  • Division & cutting – best
  • Seed – unreliable and easy to cross – [peppermint and variants almost sterile]
  • Loves water
  • Plant near roses to deter aphids
  • Contain in pots if possible

Mentha species and varities I’m growing:

There is a real mess for the mint species but using the Encylopedia of Herbs as a sensible starting point for organising them… and dynamically changing them as it becomes clearer…

  • Mentha aquatica – [Culinary] Water, bergamot, orange, lemon, druids mint, the smooth leaved form is Eau de cologne mint – egg shaped leaves and flowers are terminal – high in menthol – [parent of peppermint]
  • Mentha arvensis – also M. gentilis – corn mint [significant source of Menthol] – ginger mint has high linalool and smells like lavender
  • Mentha australis – Australian – river mint – [Culinary]
  • Mentha canadensis – American cornmint, japanese peppemint – [probably originally hybrid of arvensis and longifolia]
  • Mentha cervina – Hart’s Pennyroyal – Fine leafed water mint
  • Mentha cordifolia – Common mint – [Culinary] large round leaf and strong general minty flavour – my guess is this is a variation on x villosa
  • Mentha crispata – Wrinkled-leaf mint – probably x piperita
  • Mentha citrata – Bergamot [smells like citrus bergamot] probably x piperita
  • Mentha diemenica – Australian native mint with very small leaves -http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/gnp11/mentha-diemenica.html
  • Mentha × gracilis – M. gentilis – [Culinary] Ginger Mint – scotch spearmint
  • Mentha longifolia – Mentha sylvestris, Horse, Buddleia mint
  • Mentha x piperita – Peppermint – [Culinary] – huge number of variations
  • Mentha pulegium – Pennyroyal – [NOT Culinary – nasty chemicals… big problems for pregnancy or kidney and can cause dermatitus]
  • Mentha requienii – Corsican – tiny leaf
  • Mentha × rotundifolia (M. longifolia × M. suaveolens) – [Culinary] False Apple, Egyptian
  • Mentha spicata – M. viridis, Spearmint, common or garden – [Culinary] – lots of variants [parent of peppermint]
  • Mentha spicata var. crispa – curly or moroccan- [Culinary]
  • Mentha suaveolens – Apple – [Culinary]
  • Mentha suaveolens ‘Varigata’ – Apple or Pineapple flavours (a variegated cultivar) – [Culinary]
  • Mentha × villosa – old fashioned or woolly mint – apple crossed with spicata

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mint

http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mints-39.html

Useful associated ‘mint like’ plant species:

Mentha Australis – Australian native mint

Mentha piperita – peppermint

Mentha suaveolens – applemint

Mentha × piperita – peppermint v. chocolate mint

Mentha spicata – spearmint