Mentha arvensis

Mentha arvensis
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Mentha
Species:	M. arvensis
Binomial name
Mentha arvensis L.
Synonyms [2]
List Calamintha arvensis(L.) Garsault Mentha agrestisSole Mentha agrestisHegetschw. Mentha agrestrisSole Mentha albae-carolinaeHeinr.Braun Mentha albertiSennen Mentha allioniiBoreau Mentha angustifoliaSchreb. Mentha anomalaHérib. Mentha approximata(Wirtg.) Strail Mentha arenariaTopitz Mentha argutaOpiz Mentha argutissimaBorbás & Heinr.Braun Mentha argutissima var. subpilosaTopitz Mentha arvensis var. caespitosaBoenn. Mentha arvensis var. lanceolataBecker Mentha arvensis var. legitimaBecker Mentha arvensis var. minorBecker Mentha arvensis var. parietariifoliaBecker Mentha arvensis subsp. parietariifolia(Becker) Briq. Mentha arvensis var. parvifloraBoenn. Mentha arvensis var. procumbensBecker Mentha arvensis var. radicansBoenn. Mentha atrovirensHost Mentha austriacaJacq. Mentha badensisJ.Fellm. ex Ledeb. Mentha badensisC.C.Gmel. Mentha baguetianaStrail Mentha barbataOpiz ex Déségl. Mentha bracteolataOpiz ex Déségl. Mentha campestrisSchur Mentha campicolaHeinr.Braun Mentha collinaTopitz Mentha cuneifolia(Lej.) Domin Mentha deflexaDumort. Mentha densifloraOpiz Mentha densifoliataStrail Mentha diffusaLej. Mentha dissitifloraSennen Mentha divaricataHost Mentha divergensTopitz Mentha dubiaSchleich. ex Suter Mentha duffouriiSennen Mentha duftschmidii(Topitz) Trautm. Mentha duftschmidiiTopitz Mentha ehrhartianaLej. & Courtois Mentha exiguaLucé Mentha flagelliferaSchur Mentha flexuosaStrail Mentha floridaTausch ex Heinr.Braun Mentha fochiiSennen Mentha fontanaWeihe ex Strail Mentha fontana var. brevibracteataTopitz & Heinr.Braun Mentha fontana var. confertaTopitz Mentha fontqueriSennen Mentha fossicolaHeinr.Braun Mentha gallica(Topitz) Domin Mentha gentiliformisStrail Mentha gentilisGeorgi Mentha gracilescensOpiz ex Strail Mentha graveolensOpiz Mentha hillebrandtiiOrtmann ex Malinv. Mentha hostiiBoreau Mentha hostii var. arvinaTopitz Mentha intermediaNees ex Bluff & Fingerh. Mentha joffreiSennen Mentha kitaibelianaHeinr.Braun ex Haring Mentha lamiifoliaHost Mentha lanceolataBenth. Mentha lapponicaWahlenb. Mentha lataOpiz ex Déségl. Mentha latifoliaHost Mentha latissimaSchur Mentha laxaHost Mentha longibracteataHeinr.Braun Mentha maculataHost Mentha melissifoliaHost Mentha minorOpiz ex Déségl. Mentha moenchiiPérard Mentha mosanaLej. & Courtois Mentha multifloraHost Mentha multiflora var. serpentinaTopitz Mentha mutabilis(Topitz) Domin Mentha nemorosaHost Mentha nemorumBoreau Mentha nobilisWeihe ex Fingerh. Mentha nummulariaSchreb. Mentha obtusataOpiz Mentha obtusodentata(Topitz) Domin Mentha ocymoidesHost Mentha odorataOpiz ex Déségl. Mentha origanifoliaHost Mentha ovataSchur Mentha palitzensisTopitz Mentha paludosaNees ex Bluff & Fingerh. Mentha palustrisMoench Mentha parvifoliaOpiz Mentha parvulaTopitz Mentha pascuorum(Topitz) Trautm. Mentha pastorisSennen Mentha piersianaBorbás Mentha pilosaSpreng. ex Wallr. Mentha pilosellaPérard Mentha plagensisTopitz Mentha plicataOpiz Mentha polymorphaHost Mentha praeclaraTopitz Mentha praecoxSole Mentha praticolaOpiz Mentha procumbensThuill. Mentha prostrataHost Mentha pulchellaHost Mentha pulegiformisHeinr.Braun Mentha pumilaHost Mentha rigidaStrail Mentha rothiiNees ex Bluff & Fingerh. Mentha rotundataOpiz Mentha ruderalisTopitz Mentha salebrosaBoreau Mentha sativaRoxb. Mentha schreberiPérard Mentha scrophulariifoliaLej. & Courtois Mentha segetalisOpiz Mentha silvicolaHeinr.Braun Mentha simplexHost Mentha slichoviensisOpiz Mentha sparsifloraHeinr.Braun Mentha sparsiflora var. pascuorumTopitz Mentha subcollinaTopitz Mentha subcordataColla ex Lamotte Mentha subfontaneaTopitz Mentha subinodoraSchur Mentha sylvaticaHost Mentha tenuicaulisStrail Mentha tenuifoliaHost Mentha thayanaHeinr.Braun Mentha uliginosaStrail Mentha vanhaesendonckiiStrail Mentha variansHost Mentha verisimilisStrail Mentha villosaBecker Mentha viridulaHost

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. ^{[3] [4] [5]} 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). ^{[6] [7]}

It grows in moist places, especially along streams. ^[8]

Description

Wild mint is a herbaceous perennial plant generally growing to 10–60 cm (4–24 in) and rarely up to 100 cm (40 in) tall. It has a creeping rootstock from which grow erect or semi-sprawling squarish stems.

The leaves are in opposite pairs, simple, 2–6.5 cm (3⁄4–2+1⁄2 in) long and 1–2 cm (1⁄2–3⁄4 in) 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 3 to 4 mm (1⁄8 to 5⁄32 in) 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. ^{[5] [9] [10] [11]}

Subspecies

Subspecies include: ^[3]

• 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 var. piperascenes Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey – Japanese/Chinese/Korean mint
• Mentha arvensis subsp. parietariifolia (Becker) Briq.
• Mentha arvensis subsp. haplocalyx (Linnaeus, e.g. var. sachalinensis) ^[12]

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). ^{[6] [13]}

Uses

The leaves have been made into tea to treat colds or aid digestion. ^[14] They can also be eaten raw. ^[15]

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. ^{[16] [17]} Mint extracts and menthol-related chemicals are used in food, drinks, cough medicines, creams and cigarettes. ^[17] Menthol is widely used in dental care, as a mouthwash potentially inhibiting streptococci and lactobacilli bacteria. ^[18]

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. ^[19] 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. ^[19]

References

1. Maiz-Tome, L. (2016). "Mentha arvensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T64317970A67730082. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64317970A67730082.en . Retrieved 5 December 2024.
2. "Mentha arvensis L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
3. "Mentha arvensis". Euro+Med Plantbase Project. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem. 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011.
4. "Mentha arvensis". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
5. Stace, C. (11 March 2008). van der Meijden, R.; de Kort, I. (eds.). "Mentha arvensis L." Flora of NW Europe. Archived from the original on 11 March 2008.
6. "Mentha canadensis". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
7. Quattrocchi, Umberto (1947). CRC World dictionary of plant names: Common names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synyonyms, and Etymology. Vol. III M-Q. CRC Press. p. 1659.
8. "Mentha arvensis". Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The University of Texas at Austin. 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
9. Blamey, M.; Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN   0-340-40170-2.
10. Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan. ISBN   0-333-47494-5..
11. "Corn mint: Mentha arvensis". NatureGate. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
12. "Mentha sachalinensis in Flora of China". Flora of China (series) Vol 17. p. 237. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-06-19. 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.
13. Quattrocchi, Umberto (1947). CRC World dictionary of plant names: Common names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synyonyms, and Etymology. Vol. III M-Q. CRC Press. p. 1659.
14. Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 53. ISBN   978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC   1073035766.
15. Benoliel, Doug (2011). Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest (Rev. and updated ed.). Seattle, WA: Skipstone. p. 80. ISBN   978-1-59485-366-1. OCLC   668195076.
16. Shaikh, Mosma Nadim; Suryawanshi, Yogesh Chandrakant; Mokat, Digambar Nabhu (4 March 2019). "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. 22 (2): 477-483. doi:10.1080/0972060X.2019.1613933. S2CID   191177588.
17. Maria Kostka-Rokosz; Yelena Yalli; Lana Dvorkin; Julia Whelan. "Mentha Arvensis Piperascens". Boston Healing Landscape Project. Boston University School of Medicine. Archived from the original on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
18. Freires IA, Denny C, Benso B, de Alencar SM, Rosalen PL (22 April 2015). "Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oils and Their Isolated Constituents against Cariogenic Bacteria: A Systematic Review". Molecules. 20 (4): 7329–7358. doi: 10.3390/molecules20047329 . PMC   6272492 . PMID   25911964.
19. 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.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
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