Dictionary:
mint2 (mĭnt)  |
[Middle English minte, from Old English, from Germanic *minta, from Latin menta, possibly from Greek minthē.]
minty mint'y adj.| 5min Related Video: mint |
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: mint |
For more information on mint, visit Britannica.com.
| Food Lover's Companion: mint |
Long a symbol of hospitality, Greek mythology claims that mint was once the nymph Mentha. She angered Pluto's wife Persephone, who turned her into this aromatic herb. There are over 30 species of mint, the two most popular and widely available being peppermint and spearmint. Peppermint is the more pungent of the two. It has bright green leaves, purple-tinged stems and a peppery flavor. Spearmint leaves are gray-green or true green and have a milder flavor and fragrance. Mint grows wild throughout the world and is cultivated in Europe, the United States and Asia. It's most plentiful during summer months but many markets carry it year-round. Choose leaves that are evenly colored with no sign of wilting. Store a bunch of mint, stems down, in a glass of water with a plastic bag over the leaves. Refrigerate in this manner for up to a week, changing the water every 2 days. Mint is used in both sweet and savory dishes and in drinks such as the famous mint julep. Mint is available fresh, dried, as an extract, and in the form of oil of spearmint or oil of peppermint, both highly concentrated flavorings. Most forms can usually be found in supermarkets. See also herbs.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: mint |
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.
| Veterinary Dictionary: Mentha |
Genus of herbs in family Lamiaceae; unidentified toxin; clinical signs include incoordination, diarrhea; with some plants abortion and photosensitization also recorded; includes M. australis (native mint), M. longifolia (horse mint), M. pulegium (penny royal), M. satureioides (native mint).
| Wikipedia: Mentha |
| Mentha | |
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| Mentha longifolia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Mentha L. |
| Species | |
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Mentha (mint) is a genus of about 25 species (and many hundreds of varieties[1]) of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae (Mint Family). 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, square [3], 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] The flowers are produced in clusters ('verticils') on an erect spike, white to purple, the corolla two-lipped with four subequal lobes, the upper lobe usually the largest. The fruit is a small, dry capsule containing one to four seeds.
While the species that make up the Mentha genus are widely distributed and can be found in many environments, most Mentha grow best in wet environments and moist soils. Mints will grow 10–120 cm tall and can spread over an indeterminate sized area. Due to their tendency to spread unchecked, mints are considered invasive.[4]
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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.
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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.
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All mints prefer, and thrive in, cool, moist spots in partial shade.[5] 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.[5]
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[5]; and 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) apple mint (Mentha suaveolens).
Mints are supposed to make good companion plants, repelling pest insects and attracting beneficial ones. Mints are susceptible to whitefly and aphids.
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.[6]
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 mint for flavor or garnish, namely the Mint Julep and the Mojito. Crème de menthe is a mint-flavored liqueur used in drinks such as the grasshopper.
Mint essential oil and menthol are extensively used as flavorings in breath fresheners, drinks, antiseptic mouth rinses, toothpaste, chewing gum, desserts, and candies; see mint (candy) and mint chocolate. The substances that give the mints their characteristic aromas and flavors are menthol (the main aroma of Peppermint and Japanese Peppermint) and pulegone (in Pennyroyal and Corsican Mint). The compound primarily responsible for the aroma and flavor of spearmint is R-carvone.
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.
Mint was originally used as a medicinal herb to treat stomach ache and chest pains, and it is commonly used in the form of tea as a home remedy to help alleviate stomach pain. During the Middle Ages, powdered mint leaves were used to whiten teeth. Mint tea is a strong diuretic. Mint also aids digestion, in a way that it breaks down the fats. In recent years, it has been often recommended for treating obesity.
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. Mint is also used in some shampoo products.
A common use is as an antipruritic, especially in insect bite treatments (often along with camphor).
Menthol is also used in cigarettes as an additive, because it blocks out the bitter taste of tobacco and soothes the throat.
The strong, sharp flavor and scent of mint is sometimes 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".
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 plants planted near doorways help drive ants away.
Mint oil is also used as an environmentally-friendly insecticide for its ability to kill some common pests like wasps, hornets, ants and cockroaches.
Mint descends from the Latin word mentha, which is rooted in the Greek word minthe, mentioned in Greek mythology as Minthe, a nymph who was transformed into a mint plant. The word itself probably derives from a now extinct pre-Greek language (see Pre-Greek substrate).[7]
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, especially in Brazil, mint species are popularly known as Hortelã. In many Indo-Aryan languages, it is called Pudīna.
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, any small mint-flavored confectionery item can be called a mint.[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).
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Food Lover's Companion. Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mentha". Read more |
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