Family: Lamiaceae
field mint, wild mint
[Mentha arvensis L., more...]
Christopher Noll
Christopher Noll
University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)
Etymology: Mentha: Latin name for an unfortunate Greek nymph named Mentha who got herself turned into a mint plant, and a genus of culinary herbs named after her, this is one of the oldest plant names still in use
Plants: erect, perennial, 4"-32" tall, aromatic forb; square stems
Leaves: opposite, short-stalked, toothed, with a pointed tip
Flowers: pink to white, 1/8"-1/4" long, 4 stamens slightly longer than the petal;
inflorescence dense, whorled clusters distinctly separated along the stem; blooms July-Sept.
Fruits: 1-seeded nutlet
Habitat: wet; meadows, shores, streambanks
Conservation Status: Native
Plants: erect, perennial, 4"-32" tall, aromatic forb; square stems
Leaves: opposite, short-stalked, toothed, with a pointed tip
Flowers: pink to white, 1/8"-1/4" long, 4 stamens slightly longer than the petal;
inflorescence dense, whorled clusters distinctly separated along the stem; blooms July-Sept.Fruits: 1-seeded nutlet
Habitat: wet; meadows, shores, streambanks
Conservation Status: Native
Marshes, sedge meadows, wet prairies, mudflats and sandbars, wet thickets, banks of streams and rivers, pond margins, lakeshores, limestone beaches of Lake Michigan, wet pastures, ditches, sloughs, bogs, wet cliffs, both hardwood and conifer swamps, floodplain forests, depressions in mesic woods; even in open, wet, weedy areas such as in abandoned quarries and railroad yards, and along roadsides.
This is our only native species, and our most common, formerly included in the Eurasian M. arvensis L. Tucker & Chambers (2002) showed that Asian and North American plants are derived from an ancient hybridization of M. longifolia (L.) Huds. and M. arvensis. Although not known from Wisconsin, M. arvensis does occur in the United States and differs in having ovate leaves, rounded at the base, and narrow-triangular to broad triangular calyx lobes, as well as a different base chromosome number and essential oil chemotype.
This is our only native species, and our most common, formerly included in the Eurasian M. arvensis L. Tucker & Chambers (2002) showed that Asian and North American plants are derived from an ancient hybridization of M. longifolia (L.) Huds. and M. arvensis. Although not known from Wisconsin, M. arvensis does occur in the United States and differs in having ovate leaves, rounded at the base, and narrow-triangular to broad triangular calyx lobes, as well as a different base chromosome number and essential oil chemotype.
Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 3, Wetland Indicator = FACW USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos University of Wisconsin - Green Bay: Wetland Plants: Photos, descriptions, information USGS - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin Dan Tenaglia's The Missouri Flora: Fabulous photographs; detailed descriptions; color and leave arrangement key. David G. Smith's "Delaware Wilflowers": Beautiful photographs; descriptions Illinois Wildflowers: Wonderful photographs; detailed descriptions; color and leaf arrangement key Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora - 2nd Edition (1913) "An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada"
Christopher Noll
Christopher Noll
Robert W. Freckmann
Robert Bierman
Robert Bierman
Hugh H. Iltis
Emmet J. Judziewicz
Derek Anderson
Aaron_Carlson
Aaron_Carlson
