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Season: Spring & Summer

Urban, Rural or Both: Both

There are a few Mints you might find. In rural areas away from settlements, the most common would be the American Wild Mint. In cities where there are gardens, or have been, you might find Peppermint and Spearmint. If you live in the Southern Parts of the Eastern side of USA, the Corsican Mint is fairly common.

Mint leaves can be made into teas, added to meals raw or cooked, or just used for munching on if you find them while out walking. There are other types of mints you could find, but some have toxic oils in them, so until you research further, I'd suggest sticking with the ones I've listed.

Growing mints in your home garden:

For detailed growing instructions, go to my Wild Foods Home Garden website Mints page.

American Wild Mint (Mentha canadensis or Mentha arvensis var. canadensis). Known also as Field Mint. You can often smell this plant even before you see it. This one is good for teas, iced tea, mint jellies, eating fresh, drying and using leaves for teas. Good for stomach upsets and bad breath. The easiest way to recognize this one is the tight groups of flowers in wholes around the stem just above the leaf axils (where the leaf stem meets the four sided plant stem). The color of the flowers ranges from white-mauve to purple to purple-blue.

Description:

• Plant Size: Upright plant that ranges from 10-46 cm (4 to 18 inches) tall
• Duration: Perennial
• Leaf Shape: Lanceolate to Ovate
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Decussate (Alternating Opposites. That is, they come in Opposite pairs that Alternate on the stem - if looking at the plant from above, you will have one pair at three and nine o'clock, then the next pair at twelve and six o'clock.)
• Leaf Size: 2.5-6.35 cm (1 to 2 1/2 inches) long by 1.25-2.5 cm (1/2 to 1 inch) wide
• Leaf Margin: Serrated (saw toothed edge)
• Leaf Notes: Leaves are hairy.
• Flowers: From whorls over axils of upper leaves. Tube shaped with an upper petal that is divided into 2 lobes and a lower lip. The lower petal can be divided into 3 lobes. White-mauve to purple to blue-purple.
• Stem: 4 sided
• Habitat: Low lying area where the soil is rich and moist but not right in water. Full sun to part shade. This plant spreads by the rhizomes, and can form large colonies.

• Recipe search on the web here (Google search) and here (Bing search).
• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita or Mentha balsamea). This very common hybrid is found in most areas of Eastern North America having escaped cultivation. Wherever there has been human settlement, this is sure to be found somewhere. A very tasty mint for tea and eating fresh. The Spearmint has green stems, this one has dark red stems. The Spearmint has long, thin flower clusters, this one has spherical flower clusters except the very top flower which are cone shaped. The Spearmint has leaves that are lighter green than this one.

Description:

• Plant Size: Ranges from 30-90 cm (12 to 35 inches) tall
• Duration: Perennial
• Leaf Shape: Ovate to Lanceolate
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Decussate (Alternating Opposites. That is, they come in Opposite pairs that Alternate on the stem - if looking at the plant from above, you will have one pair at three and nine o'clock, then the next pair at twelve and six o'clock.)
• Leaf Size: 4-9 cm (1/3 to 3 1/2 inches) long
• Leaf Margin: Serrated (saw toothed edge)
• Leaf Notes: leaf veins have a reddish tint. Leaf color is dark green. Most often there is a very slight fuzz on the leaves.
• Flowers: The flowers are a light-mauve to purple and appear in tight clusters around the stems, most of which are right at the top or termination of the stem.
• Fruit: As this is a hybrid plant, it is sterile and does not produce seeds.
• Stem: 4 sided and dark red
• Habitat: Shaded, moist areas, but can adapt to a huge range of conditions and can spread rapidly by the rhizomes.

• Recipe search on the web here (Google search) and here (Bing search).
• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Spearmint or Spear Mint (Mentha spicata). A very nice leaf for making teas, eating fresh or adding to baked goods. A great find when out walking on a hot summer day as the taste is cooling and seems to cut thirst. It also is helpful as a tea for stomach upset. This one has thin, long pink to white flower clusters on the top of the stems while the Peppermint has spherical flower clusters except for the ones at the very top which are conical. Stems are green with this one, while the stems of the Peppermint are red. Peppermint leaves are darker green than this one.

Description:

• Plant Size: Ranging from 30-100 cm (1 to 3 feet) tall
• Duration: Perennial
• Leaf Shape: Ovate to Lanceolate. The tips of the leaves are pointed - that is where the "Spear" part of the name comes from.
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Decussate (Alternating Opposites. That is, they come in Opposite pairs that Alternate on the stem - if looking at the plant from above, you will have one pair at three and nine o'clock, then the next pair at twelve and six o'clock.)
• Leaf Size: 5-9 cm (2 to 3 1/2 inches) long
• Leaf Margin: Serrated (saw toothed edge)
• Leaf Notes: Leaves can have hairs or not.
• Flowers: Flowers appear in clusters of thin, long spikes at the top of stems. Pink to white.
• Fruit: It is a sterile hybrid, so it does not grow seeds.
• Stems: 4 sided. Can be hairy or not hairy. Stems are green.
• Habitat: Likes wet soils, but can grow in a wide variety of conditions.

• Recipe search on the web here (Google search) and here (Bing search).
• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Corsican Mint (Mentha requienii). This is a very low growing mint that grows in the South East USA. It is the mint used in Crème de menthe. As a big treat after meals every once in a while in the 1970's, we would have some poured on vanilla ice cream. I also used to love taking sips of it when I was young and the adults weren't looking. I have never used the leaves directly, so cannot comment on using the plant.

Description:

• Recipe search on the web here (Google search) and here (Bing search).
• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.

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