Mentha arvensis
Mentha arvensis, the corn mint, field mint, or wild mint, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It has a circumboreal distribution, being native to the temperate regions of Europe and western and central Asia, east to the Himalaya and eastern Siberia, and North America. Mentha canadensis, the related species, is also included in Mentha arvensis by some authors as two varieties, M. arvensis var. glabrata Fernald and M. arvensis var. piperascens Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey.
It grows in moist places, especially along streams.
Description
Wild mint is a herbaceous perennial plant generally growing to and rarely up to tall. It has a creeping rootstock from which grow erect or semi-sprawling squarish stems.The leaves are in opposite pairs, simple, long and broad, hairy, and with a coarsely serrated margin.
The flowers are pale purple, in whorls on the stem at the bases of the leaves. Each flower is long and has a five-lobed hairy calyx, a four-lobed corolla with the uppermost lobe larger than the others and four stamens. The fruit is a two-chambered carpel.
Subspecies
include:- Mentha arvensis subsp. arvensis.
- Mentha arvensis subsp. agrestis Briq.
- Mentha arvensis subsp. austriaca Briq.
- Mentha arvensis subsp. lapponica Neuman
- Mentha arvensis subsp. palustris Neumann
- Mentha arvensis var. piperascenes Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey – Japanese/Chinese/Korean mint
- Mentha arvensis subsp. parietariifolia Briq.
- Mentha arvensis subsp. haplocalyx
Uses
The leaves have been made into tea to treat colds or aid digestion. They can also be eaten raw.Chemical substances that can be extracted from wild mint include menthol, menthone, isomenthone, neomenthol, limonene, methyl acetate, piperitone, beta-caryophyllene, alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, tannins and flavonoids. Mint extracts and menthol-related chemicals are used in food, drinks, cough medicines, creams and cigarettes. Menthol is widely used in dental care, as a mouthwash potentially inhibiting streptococci and lactobacilli bacteria.