Mentha arvensis explained

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.[1] [2] Mentha canadensis, the related species, is also included in Mentha arvensis by some authors as two varieties, M. arvensis var. glabrata Fernald (North American plants such as American Wild Mint) and M. arvensis var. piperascens Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey (eastern Asian plants such as Japanese mint).[3]

It grows in moist places, especially along streams.[4]

Description

Wild mint is a herbaceous perennial plant generally growing to 10– and rarely up to 100-1NaN-1 tall. It has a creeping rootstock from which grow erect or semi-sprawling squarish stems.

The leaves are in opposite pairs, simple, 2– long and 1– broad, hairy, and with a coarsely serrated margin.

The flowers are pale purple (occasionally white or pink), in whorls on the stem at the bases of the leaves. Each flower is 3to 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.[2] [5] [6] [7]

Subspecies

Subspecies include:[1]

The related species Mentha canadensis is also included in M. arvensis by some authors as two varieties, M. arvensis var. glabrata Fernald (in reference to North American plants) and M. arvensis var. piperascens Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey (in reference to eastern Asian plants).[9]

Uses

The leaves have been made into tea to treat colds or aid digestion.[10] They can also be eaten raw.[11]

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.[12] Mint extracts and menthol-related chemicals are used in food, drinks, cough medicines, creams and cigarettes.[13] Menthol is widely used in dental care, as a mouthwash potentially inhibiting streptococci and lactobacilli bacteria.[14]

Diseases

Two main diseases that can significantly damage Japanese mint (M. arvensis var. piperascens) and its yield are the rust fungus and the mildew attacks.[15] Mildew attacks usually only occur on the west coast of United States where the weather can be foggy and humid, a condition that attracts mildew. Rust fungus is a disease that is common for most of the Mentha plants such as peppermint and spearmint. These diseases are flagged due to the improbability of controlling once it starts in a mint farm. They are typically cut immediately when discovered to help reduce the probability of contaminating the rest of the plant leaves.[15]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mentha arvensis . 2010 . Euro+Med Plantbase Project . Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem . https://web.archive.org/web/20110718044612/http://ww2.bgbm.org/_EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameId=111936&PTRefFk=500000 . 18 July 2011 .
  2. Web site: Mentha arvensis L. . Stace . C. . van der Meijden . R. . de Kort . I. . 11 March 2008 . Flora of NW Europe . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080311045747/http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=3517 . 11 March 2008 .
  3. Book: Quattrocchi, Umberto . 1947 . CRC World dictionary of plant names: Common names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synyonyms, and Etymology . III M-Q . CRC Press . 1659.
  4. Web site: Mentha arvensis . 2013 . Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center . The University of Texas at Austin . 16 January 2022 . 16 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220116223554/https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=mear4 . live .
  5. Book: Blamey . M. . Grey-Wilson . C. . 1989 . Flora of Britain and Northern Europe . 0-340-40170-2.
  6. Book: Huxley . A. . 1992. New RHS Dictionary of Gardening . Macmillan . 0-333-47494-5. .
  7. Web site: Corn mint: Mentha arvensis . NatureGate . 12 December 2013 . 12 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131212222059/http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/corn-mint . live .
  8. Web site: Mentha sachalinensis in Flora of China . Flora of China (series) Vol 17 . 237 . Mentha sachalinensis (Briquet ex Miyabe & Miyake) Kudô, J. Coll. Sci. Imp. Univ. Tokyo. 43(10): 47. 1921. 东北薄荷 dong bei bo he. . 2017-06-19 . 2016-03-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103350/http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200019820 . live .
  9. Book: Quattrocchi, Umberto . CRC World dictionary of plant names: Common names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synyonyms, and Etymology . III M-Q . 1947 . CRC Press . 1659.
  10. Book: Fagan, Damian. Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. FalconGuides. 2019. 978-1-4930-3633-2. Guilford, CT. 53. 1073035766.
  11. Book: Benoliel, Doug. Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Skipstone. 2011. 978-1-59485-366-1. Rev. and updated. Seattle, WA. 80. 668195076.
  12. Shaikh . Mosma Nadim . Suryawanshi . Yogesh Chandrakant . Mokat . Digambar Nabhu . Volatile Profiling and Essential Oil Yield of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf Treated with Rhizosphere Fungi and Some Important Fertilizers . Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants . 4 March 2019 . 22 . 2 . 477-483 . 10.1080/0972060X.2019.1613933. 191177588 .
  13. Web site: Maria Kostka-Rokosz . Yelena Yalli . Lana Dvorkin . Julia Whelan . Mentha Arvensis Piperascens . Boston Healing Landscape Project . Boston University School of Medicine . https://web.archive.org/web/20150319093020/http://www.bu.edu/bhlp/Clinical/cross-cultural/herbal_index/herbs/Mentha%20Arvensis%20Piperascens.html . 2015-03-19 . dead . 2013-12-12.
  14. Molecules . 22 April 2015 . 20 . 4 . 7329–7358 . Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oils and Their Isolated Constituents against Cariogenic Bacteria: A Systematic Review . Freires IA, Denny C, Benso B, de Alencar SM, Rosalen PL . 25911964 . 6272492 . 10.3390/molecules20047329 . free .
  15. Sievers, A. F., & Lowman, M. S. (1933). Commercial possibilities of Japanese mint in the United States as a source of natural menthol (No. 378). US Dept. of Agriculture.

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