mint²

 

in botany, common name for members of the Labiatae, a large family of chiefly annual or perennial herbs. Several species are shrubby or climbing forms or, rarely, small trees. Members of the family are found throughout the world, but the chief center of distribution is the Mediterranean region, where these plants form a dominant part of the vegetation. The Labiatae typically have square stems, paired opposite leaves, and tubular flowers with two lips, the upper divided into two lobes and the lower into three. The leaves sometimes grow in whorls; the flowers may be white or shades of red, blue, or purple.

The family is well known for the aromatic volatile or essential oils in the foliage, which are used in perfumes, flavorings, and medicines. Among the more important essential oils are those derived from sage, lavender, rosemary, patchouli, and the true mints. Many of the commonly used potherbs are from the mint family, e.g., basil, thyme, savory, marjoram, oregano, and the plants mentioned above. As is true of most potherbs and spices, these have a history of medicinal use in domestic remedies. Catnip, pennyroyal, hyssop, self-heal, the horehound of confectionery, and curative teas from such plants as bee balm and yerba buena have been similarly used. Species of the Labiatae are often grown as ornamentals as well as in herb gardens, and in the United States several have escaped cultivation and become naturalized as wildflowers. Types of hyssop, sage, pennyroyal, mint, and lavender are among the prevalent native species.

The true mints belong to the genus Mentha. Commercially the most important species is peppermint (M. piperita). The leaves and tops are sometimes dried and utilized for flavoring and in medicine but are chiefly in demand for the oil, distilled out for use as a carminative and stimulant, for its derivative menthol (obtained also from other mints), and for flavoring purposes, especially in chewing gum and candy and as a disguise for disagreeable tastes of drugs. Spearmint (M. spicata) is distinguishable from peppermint by the absence of a leafstalk. Its flavor is milder (the aromatic principle is carvone), and it too is used in chewing gum and medicines and is often cultivated in gardens as a flavoring. Both plants are European perennials now naturalized in the United States.

Also useful medicinally and as a source of an essential oil is the pennyroyal. True, or European, pennyroyal (M. pulegium) is a prostrate perennial. The species name [Lat.,=fleabane] is an herbalist's name given for the plant's supposed property of driving away fleas. The related American pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) is a branching annual; pennyroyal tea was a traditional domestic remedy. Other American species of Hedeoma and similar genera are also called pennyroyal. The mint family is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Lamiales.

Mentha
Mentha longifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Genus: Mentha L.
Species
See text

Mentha (mint) is a genus of about 25 species (and many hundreds of varieties^[1]) of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. Species within Mentha have a subcosmopolitan distribution across Europe, Africa, Asia,^[2] Australia, and North America. Several mint hybrids commonly occur.

Mints are aromatic, almost exclusively perennial, rarely annual, herbs. They have wide-spreading underground rhizomes and erect, branched stems. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, from simple oblong to lanceolate, often downy, and with a serrated margin. Leaf colors range from dark green and gray-green to purple, blue and sometimes pale yellow.^[2]

Species

This covers a selection of what are considered to be pure species of mints. As with all classifications of plants, this list can go out of date at a moment's notice. Listed here are accepted species names and common names (where available). Synonyms, along with cultivars and varieties (where available), are listed under the species.

Mentha aquatica – Water mint, or Marsh mint Mentha arvensis – Corn Mint, Wild Mint, Japanese Peppermint, Field Mint Mentha asiatica - Asian Mint Mentha australis - Australian mint Mentha canadensis Mentha cervina - Hart's Pennyroyal Mentha citrata – Bergamot mint Mentha crispata - Wrinkled-leaf mint Mentha cunninghamia Mentha dahurica - Dahurian Thyme Mentha diemenica - Slender mint Mentha gattefossei Mentha grandiflora

Mentha haplocalyx Mentha japonica Mentha kopetdaghensis Mentha laxiflora - Forest mint Mentha longifolia - Horse Mint Mentha pulegium – Pennyroyal Mentha requienii – Corsican mint Mentha sachalinensis - Garden mint Mentha satureioides - Native Pennyroyal Mentha spicata – Spearmint, Curly mint Mentha suaveolens – Apple mint, Pineapple mint (a variegated cultivar of Apple mint) Mentha vagans - Gray mint

Selected hybrids

The mint family has a large grouping of recognized hybrids. As with all classifications of plants, this list can go out of date at a moment's notice. Synonyms, along with cultivars and varieties where available, are included within the specific species.

Mentha × gracilis - Ginger Mint Mentha × piperita – Peppermint Mentha × rotundifolia (M. longifolia × M. suaveolens) - False Apple-mint Mentha × smithiana (M. aquatica × M. arvensis × M. spicata) - Red Raripila Mint Mentha × villosa (M. spicata × M. suaveolens; syn. M. cordifolia) - Apple-mint Mentha × villosonervata (M. longifolia × M. spicata) - Sharp-toothed Mint

Cultivation

All mints prefer, and thrive, in cool, moist spots in partial shade^[3]. In general, mints tolerate a wide range of conditions, and can also be grown in full sun.

They are fast growing, extending their reach along surfaces through a network of runners. Due to their speedy growth, one plant of each desired mint, along with a little care, will provide more than enough mint for home use. Some mint species are more invasive than others. Even with the less invasive mints, care should be taken when mixing any mint with any other plants, lest the mint take over. To control mints in an open environment, mints should be planted in deep, bottomless containers sunk in the ground, or planted above ground in tubs and barrels^[3].

Some mints can be propagated by seed. Growth from seed can be an unreliable method for raising mint for two reasons: mint seeds are highly variable, one might not end up with what one presupposed was planted^[3]; some mint varieties are sterile. It is more effective to take and plant cuttings from the runners of healthy mints.

The most common and popular mints for cultivation are peppermint (Mentha × piperita), spearmint (Mentha spicata), and (more recently) pineapple mint (Mentha suaveolens).

Mints tend to make good companion plants, repelling pest insects and attracting beneficial ones. The common mints, like spearmint and peppermint, are considered good to grow among tomato and pepper plants, where they enhance flavor, repel aphids, attract parasitic wasps to eat caterpillars, provide "living mulch" ground cover, etc.^{[citation needed]}

Chamomile is thought to make a good companion plant for mint, as well as increasing essential oil in mints, making them "stronger" in scent and flavor.^{[citation needed]}

Harvesting of mint leaves can be done at anytime. Fresh mint leaves should be used immediately or stored up to a couple of days in plastic bags within a refrigerator. Optionally, mint can be frozen in ice cube trays. Dried mint leaves should be stored in an airtight container placed in a cool, dark, dry area.^[4]

Culinary uses

The leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint. Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint when storage of the mint is not a problem. The leaves have a pleasant warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool aftertaste. Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams. In Middle Eastern cuisine mint is used on lamb dishes. In British cuisine, mint sauce is popular with lamb.

Mint is a necessary ingredient in Touareg tea, a popular tea in northern African and Arab countries.

Alcoholic drinks sometimes feature flavor of mint, namely the Mint Julep and the Mojito.

Mint essential oil and menthol are extensively used as flavorings in breath fresheners, drinks, antiseptic mouth rinses, toothpaste, chewing gum and desserts candy|candies; see mint (candy) and mint chocolate. The substances that give the mints their characteristic aromas and flavors are: menthol: the main aroma of Spearmint, Peppermint, and Japanese Peppermint (a major commercial source). pulegone: in Pennyroyal and Corsican Mint.

Methyl salicylate, commonly called "oil of wintergreen", is often used as a mint flavoring for foods and candies due to its mint-like flavor.

Mints are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Buff Ermine.

Medicinal and cosmetic uses

Mint was originally used as a medicinal herb to treat stomach ache and chest pains. During the Middle Ages, powdered mint leaves were used to whiten teeth. Mint tea is a strong diuretic. Mint also aids digestion.

Menthol from mint essential oil (40-90%) is an ingredient of many cosmetics and some perfumes. Menthol and mint essential oil are also much used in medicine as a component of many drugs, and are very popular in aromatherapy.

A common use is as an antipruritic, especially in insect bite treatments (often along with camphor).

It is also used in cigarettes as an additive, because it blocks out the bitter taste of tobacco and soothes the throat.^{[citation needed]}

Many people also believe the strong, sharp flavor and scent of Mint can be used as a mild decongestant for illnesses such as the common cold.

In Rome, Pliny recommended that a wreath of mint was a good thing for students to wear since it was thought to "exhilarate their minds". Some modern research suggests that he was right.^{[citation needed]}

Insecticides

Mint leaves are often used by many campers to repel mosquitoes. It is also said that extracts from mint leaves have a particular mosquito-killing capability.

Mint oil is also used as an environmentally-friendly insecticide for its ability to kill some common pests like wasps, hornets, ants and cockroaches.

Diseases

Main article: List of mint diseases

Origin and usage of the word mint

Mint descends from the Latin word mentha, which is rooted in the Greek word minthe. Minthe has linguistic connections to a woman of the same name in Greek Mythology. ^[5]

Mint leaves, without a qualifier like peppermint or apple mint, generally refers to spearmint leaves.

In Central and South America, mint is known as hierbabuena (literally, "good herb"). In Lusophone countries, especialy in Brazil, mint species are poppulary kwonw as "Hortelã". In the Hindi and Urdu languages it is called Pudeena.

The taxonomic family Lamiaceae is known as the mint family. It includes many other aromatic herbs, including most of the more common cooking herbs, including basil, rosemary, sage, oregano and catnip.

As an English colloquial term, mint stands for any small sugar confectionery item flavored to taste like the aforementioned plant.^[1]

In common usage, several other plants with fragrant leaves may be erroneously called a mint. Vietnamese Mint, commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine, is not a member of the mint family (taxonomic family Lamiaceae).

Slang

In the south west of the United Kingdom, used adjectivally, the word can be used as a term of approbation or to express delight, as in "tha's mint, tha' is...". It is also used in New Zealand with the same meaning, but usually as an exclamation, as in 'mint!'.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Davidson, Alan (1999). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 508. ISBN 0-19-211579-0. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Brickell, Christopher; Zuk, Judith D. (1997). The American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. New York, NY, USA: DK Publishing, Inc., 668. ISBN 0-7894-1943-2. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Bradley, Fern (1992). Rodale's All-new Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. Emmaus, Pennsylvania, USA: Rodale Press, 390. ISBN 0-87857-999-0. 
4. ^ Ortiz, Elisabeth (1992). The Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices & Flavorings. London: Dorling Kindersley, 36-37. ISBN 1-56458-065-2. 
5. ^ Quattrocchi, Umberto (1947-). CRC World dictionary of plant names: Common names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Sonyonyms, and Etymology. CRC Press, 1658. 

External links

• Mentha/Mentha oil as a commodity traded in India
• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Mentha
• Flora Europaea: Mentha
• Flora of China: Mentha
• Medicinal use of mint in Armenia
• United States Department of Agriculture (Online Reference)
• Botanical.com entry on Mint
• Plants For a Future: Mentha genus search page

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