Mint has been known since antiquity for its aroma and pleasant taste. It is widely used in cooking, cosmetics and medicine. To find out what mint looks like, you need to consider that the plant is represented by a variety of species.
Botanical Description
Belongs to the genus Spongaceae family. This species also includes other famous aromatic herbs - basil, oregano, lemon balm, thyme. The birthplace of the perennial is considered Central Asia. According to the encyclopedia of The Plant List, the genus includes more than 40 species.
Useful infusions, decoctions are prepared from mint, added to tea
The most famous species is garden mint. This is a small bush, the root system of which is located horizontally and close to the surface of the soil. The leaves are oval, dark green in color. The plate is corrugated, as if covered with soft villi. Inflorescences are presented in the form of brushes with small flowers, the color of which varies depending on the variety.
Where does mint grow in the wild? It is common in Europe and western Asia, prefers areas with good lighting and moderate humidity. He loves loose earth with low pH. It tolerates frosts, but spring shoots are dangerous for young shoots.
Interesting information! The genus of plants got its name from the name of the natural deity of Minfa or Mint. This is the goddess of ancient Greek mythology, which Persephone turned into fragrant mint due to jealousy.
Types of mint for the garden
What happens mint for planting in the open ground is worth considering in detail.
Pepper
The garden variety was obtained by crossing two species - water and spiky mint. What does peppermint look like? The bushes of the plant are not high, usually 30-40 cm. The stalk is bare, there are oval, pointed to the edge, leaves on short petioles. They grow crosswise, have notches and visible streaks. Many have seen garden mint blooming. Small pale purple flowers are located at the end of the stem and are collected in a spike-shaped inflorescence. Fruits appear rarely, but look like four single-seed nuts.
Peppermint flowering
Menthol
A kind of peppermint with a creeping root system. The young stem is green, but with age acquires a red tint. Under favorable conditions, it can grow up to 1 m. The leaves are oval, bright green in color. The lower ones grow on short petioles, and the upper ones are attached to the stem by the base. Blooms with small purple flowers in mid-summer. It has a high menthol content.
Curly (curly)
The botanical name is spiky mint (curly). The leaves are in the form of an elongated oval, rounded to the edge. The leaf plates are highly corrugated, shaggy, with carved edges. Small pale pink flowers gather at the top of the main stem, inflorescences look like spikelets.
It looks like curly mint
Anise Lofant
Shrub plant of the genus Agastache, belongs to the rank of Mint. The botanical name is Polyfinel Fennel. Leaves are located opposite each other on a branchy stem. Pink or purple flowers gather upstairs in spike-like inflorescences. In the northern regions, it is grown as an annual species.
Note! In vivo, it is almost impossible to find Anisovy lofant.
Lemon mint
It looks like mint, but does not apply to the species. Belongs to the Labial family, but of a different kind - this is the main difference between plants. The correct name is Melissa officinalis.
Melissa looks very much like mint
In the wild it grows in Europe, in the southwest of Asia, the north of Africa and America, in the Caucasus. He likes humus-rich soil with low acidity and moderate humidity. A perennial with a branching root has a stem with small hairs, on which oval or rounded leaves pointed on top are attached with petioles.
Inflorescences are ring-shaped, they contain 6-10 flowers with a nimbus of a blue hue. Melissa blooms in mid-summer. The fruits are small, consist of single-seed nuts, ripen by the end of summer.
It is interesting! Melissa is often confused with other plants of the Labiaceae family - with catnip and Turkish mint (snakehead).
Varieties for home
Types of plants that can be grown at home on window sills or in greenhouses.
Homemade (Plectranthus or Shporotsvetnik)
The houseplant is represented by several species, but all of them with strongly branching stems and closely growing leaves of light or dark green color. Leaf plates are oval, carved along the edge. During flowering, corollas appear, the color of which depends on the species - blue, blue, white or lilac. The aroma is close to mint.
Potted plant
Chocolate
It was bred by Dutch breeders, and the distinctive feature is the aroma of chocolate and a brown tint on the leaves. A smooth stem can grow up to 50-60 cm. The shape of the leaves is semicircular, elongated, slightly corrugated and veined. Small purple flowers are collected in inflorescences, on the site of which black mint seeds are formed.
Chocolate mint leaves are brown-purple
Additional Information! You can feel the chocolate aroma well from the leaves located in front of the inflorescences.
Ginger
This is mint grass, on the straight stems of which there are wide, pointed green leaves with yellow veins. It blooms with pink or purple flowers that gather in spikelets. This form does not contain menthol.
It can be grown on the window and balcony, planting in the spring in small pots or containers. She loves loose fertile soil. You can propagate by seeds, cuttings or dividing bushes. Growth requires good lighting and a warm climate. All varieties of mint love abundant watering and spraying.
Fancy varieties
There are many subspecies of the plant, among which there are rare and exotic.
Korean mint
Other names are "Tibetan lofant" or "wrinkled polygon." Perennial shrubs are common in East Asia. It grows to 1 m.
Oval leaves with sparse notches along the edge sit on short petioles. I wonder how Korean mint blooms and smells. White or purple flowers have a faint aroma of anise and are collected in spike-shaped inflorescences.
Dog mint
An alternative name is "ivy-shaped budra" or "creeping". The fragrant plant belongs to the family Labiaceae, like mint, but to the genus Budra. In the wild, it grows in the temperate zone.
Round leaves with a carved edge and thin veins are attached to the stem with long stalks. Tubular flowers of violet or lilac hue are bundled. Flowering occurs at the beginning of summer, and fruit ripening in August.
Note! Dog mint is considered a poisonous plant!
Cat mint
Like the canine, belongs to the family Labial, but the genus of catnip. It has a strong lemon smell that attracts cats, which is why the plant got its name. It grows in temperate latitudes and subtropics in glades, slopes and along roads.
Catnip acts excitingly on cats
On a fluffy stem are shoots and leaves in the shape of a heart, pointed to the edge and with large serrations. White mint flowers with purple spots gather in semi-umbrella type inflorescences. It blooms in mid-summer, seeds in the form of nuts ripen in August.
On a note! Another species that is very rare is caramel (Japanese) mint. It grows in a swampy area on the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu.
Benefit and harm
The beneficial properties of the plant have been known for a long time, since ancient times, and are due to the composition:
- vitamins: A, group B, ascorbic and nicotinic acid;
- micro and macro elements: potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, sodium, phosphorus, copper, calcium;
- amino acids: leucine, phenylalanine, valine, aspartic and glutamic acids;
- phytosterols;
- fatty acid.
To make decoctions, teas and infusions, mint leaves are used. What is their use for humans useful:
- improve the digestive tract;
- eliminate nausea;
- have a choleretic effect;
- dilate blood vessels, relieve spasms and lower blood pressure;
- used as an antiseptic;
- relieve skin itching;
- soothe nerves;
- used for inhalation in diseases of the upper respiratory tract;
- used as a mouthwash.
Important! Peppermint in moderation is allowed for women during pregnancy to relieve symptoms of toxicosis and headaches.
There are contraindications:
- individual intolerance;
- age up to 3 years;
- low pressure;
- bronchial asthma;
- varicose veins.
For men, abuse threatens to develop an unpleasant side effect - a decrease in sperm potency and motility.
There are many types and varieties of mint. The most common are grown in summer cottages, at home on the window. The plant has earned love and popularity due to its pleasant taste, aroma and beneficial properties.
