Mentha arvensis

Mentha arvensis (Field Mint, Wild Mint or Corn Mint) is a species of mint native to the temperate regions of Europe and western and central Asia, east to the Himalaya and eastern Siberia.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 10–60 cm (rarely to 100 cm) tall. The leaves are in opposite pairs, simple, 2–6.5 cm long and 1–2 cm broad, hairy, and with a coarsely serrated margin. The flowers are pale purple (occasionally white or pink), in clusters on the stem, each flower 3–4 mm long.

There are six subspecies:

• Mentha arvensis subsp. arvensis.
• Mentha arvensis subsp. agrestis (Sole) Briq.
• Mentha arvensis subsp. austriaca (Jacq.) Briq.
• Mentha arvensis subsp. lapponica (Wahlenb.) Neuman
• Mentha arvensis subsp. palustris (Moench) Neumann
• Mentha arvensis subsp. parietariifolia (Becker) Briq.

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).

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