Menthol Mint Mentha spicata

LATIN NAME: Mentha spicata

COMMON NAME: Spearmint

The mint spreads its square stems and the pointed, aromatic leaves along the moist ground, and the small, white flowers open in the whorled spikes. The creeping, perennial herb carries the pointed, toothed, bright-green, strongly aromatic leaves on the square stems and the whorled spikes of the small, white or pale-lilac flowers through the summer, one of the fine, generous sights of the moist bed, drawing the bees. The leaves have a very long record as the fine, cool herb of the warm tables, and the plant is a fine, historic presence of the herb garden. It is a plant of the open, sunny to lightly shaded, deep, moist ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The mint is a historic subject of the plant science, and the aromatic leaves keep showing up in the work on the aromatic herbs. The chemistry of the pointed, toothed leaves, which carry the fine, cool oils of the old gardens, has been studied steadily, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the aromatic herbs, the creeping mints and the members of the mint family. The square stems and the creeping habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the mint is a regular subject of the work on the cool leaves of the warm world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The mint is a fine, generous herb of the moist bed and the herb garden. The pointed, toothed, bright-green, strongly aromatic leaves have a very long record as the fine, cool herb of the warm tables, the fresh leaves coming to the teas, the salads, the sauces and the cool drinks of the old kitchens, while the whorled spikes of the small, white or pale-lilac flowers open through the summer, drawing the bees. The plant spreads with the ease in the moist ground, and it is one of the fine choices for the herb garden, the moist bed and the study collection. It has been written about in the culinary and the botanical papers for the cool leaves and the very long history, and it is a fine, generous herb of the open, sunny to lightly shaded, deep, moist garden.

Give the young plants the moist bed and the light shade, and the cool leaves will spread in the first season.

To grow the mint from seed, sow the tiny, brown seeds over the surface of the tray, with a light press, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings show themselves within a couple of weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun or the light shade and the deep, moist ground, the cool leaves will spread over the years.

Uses: Culinary/Medicinal/Beverage Duration: Perennial (hardy in zones 4-9)

Variety commonly sold as peppermint or spearmint. Flavour and odour is pungent, not sweet like the true root-propagated strains. Useful for tea, for medicinal purposes.