Fauna and Flora Friday: 11 June 2021

Coreen Kuhn Photography

3 years ago

Good day everyone,

Today I would like to share some interesting information on the Peppermint Plant.

I got the information from Wikipedia.

Peppermint, Mentha × piperita

“Peppermint, Mentha × piperita, also known as Mentha balsamea Wild is a hybrid mint, a cross between Watermint and Spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world. It is occasionally found in the wild with its parent species.

Peppermint generally grows best in moist, shaded locations, and expands by underground rhizomes. The rhizomes are wide-spreading, fleshy, and bear fibrous roots. The leaves can be 4–9 cm long and 1.5–4 cm broad. They are dark green with reddish veins, and they have an acute apex and coarsely toothed margins. The leaves and stems are usually slightly fuzzy. The flowers are purple, 6–8 mm long, with a four-lobed corolla about 5 mm in diameter; they are produced in whorls around the stem, forming thick, blunt spikes. Flowering season lasts from mid- to late summer.

Young shoots are taken from old stocks and dibbled into the ground about 1.5 feet apart. They grow quickly and cover the ground with runners if it is permanently moist. For the home gardener, it is often grown in containers to restrict rapid spreading. It grows best with a good supply of water, without being water-logged, and planted in areas with part-sun to shade.

The leaves and flowering tops are used; they are collected as soon as the flowers begin to open and can be dried. The wild form of the plant is less suitable for this purpose, with cultivated plants having been selected for more and better oil content. They may be allowed to lie and wilt a little before distillation, or they may be taken directly to the still.

Fresh or dried peppermint leaves are often used alone in peppermint tea or with other herbs in herbal teas (tisanes, infusions). Peppermint is used for flavoring ice cream, candy, fruit preserves, alcoholic beverages, chewing gum, toothpaste, and some shampoos, soaps and skin care products.”