OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Mentha spicata var. spicata   FAMILY Lamiaceae   Go to FSUS key



INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Mentha spicata   FAMILY Lamiaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Mentha spicata

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Mentha spicata

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 164-32-006:

Mentha spicata   FAMILY Lamiaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Mentha spicata

 

COMMON NAME:
Spearmint


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Mentha spicata var. spicata, Spearmint

USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969    mpa_page_175

        

image of Mentha spicata var. spicata, Spearmint

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_mesp3_001_lvd

        

image of Mentha spicata var. spicata, Spearmint

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_mesp3_004_lvd

        

image of Mentha spicata var. spicata, Spearmint

Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California - Davis, Bugwood.org    bug_5387436

Month Unknown        

Spikes more slender than Peppermint's and with a distinctive Spearmint aroma, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).

image of Mentha spicata var. spicata, Spearmint

Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California - Davis, Bugwood.org    bug_5387436b

Month Unknown        

Petioles of the main leaves 0-3 mm long (vs. 4-15 mm long in M. xpiperita), per Weakley's Flora (2012).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Mentha spicata var. spicata   FAMILY Lamiaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Mentha spicata   FAMILY Lamiaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Mentha spicata

INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Mentha spicata

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 164-32-006:
Mentha spicata   FAMILY Lamiaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Mentha spicata

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

3040

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: Disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: Europe

Uncommon in NC Mountains, rare elsewhere

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


Invasive?

This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
Leaves sessile to short-petiolate

FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Whitish/Lavender
Almost radially symmetrical
5-toothed calyx
4-lobed corolla
4 exserted stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Schizocarp of mericarps

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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