Mentha canadensis

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Mentha canadensis
Mentha canadensis.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Mentha
Species:
M. canadensis
Binomial name
Mentha canadensis
Synonyms [2] [1]
List
    • Mentha agrestisRaf.
    • Mentha arvensis var. borealis(Michx.) Kuntze
    • Mentha arvensis subsp. borealisTaylor & MacBryde
    • Mentha arvensis var. canadensis(L.) Briq.
    • Mentha arvensis var. canadensis(L.) Kuntze
    • Mentha arvensis var. glabrata(Benth.) Fernald
    • Mentha arvensis var. haplocalyx(Briq.) Briq.
    • Mentha arvensis subsp. haplocalyxBriq.
    • Mentha arvensis var. lanataPiper
    • Mentha arvensis var. pavonianaBriq.
    • Mentha arvensis var. penardiBriq.
    • Mentha arvensis f. piperascensMalinv. ex Holmes
    • Mentha arvensis var. sachalinensisBriq.
    • Mentha arvensis var. schmitziiBriq.
    • Mentha arvensis var. villosa(Benth.) S.R. Stewart
    • Mentha arvensis var. zollingeriBriq.
    • Mentha borealisMichx.
    • Mentha canadensis var. borealis(Michx.) Piper
    • Mentha canadensis var. glabrataBenth.
    • Mentha canadensis var. glabriorHook.
    • Mentha canadensis var. lanata(Piper) J.K. Henry
    • Mentha canadensis var. lanata(Piper) Piper
    • Mentha canadensis var. villosaBenth.
    • Mentha ciliataRaf.
    • Mentha cinereaRaf.
    • Mentha dispermaSessé́ & Moc.
    • Mentha glabrior(Hook.) Rydb.
    • Mentha hakkaSiebold
    • Mentha haplocalyxBriq.
    • Mentha haplocalyx subsp. austeraBriq.
    • Mentha haplocalyx var. barbataNakai
    • Mentha haplocalyx var. nipponensisMatsum. & Kudo ex Kudo
    • Mentha haplocalyx subsp. pavonianaBriq.
    • Mentha haplocalyx var. piperascens(Malinv.) Wu and Li
    • Mentha javanicaBlume
    • Mentha lanata(Piper) Rydb.
    • Mentha nipponensisKudo
    • Mentha occidentalisRydb.
    • Mentha penardi(Briq.) Rydb.
    • Mentha rubellaRydb.
    • Mentha sachalinensis(Briq.) Kudo
    • Mentha terebinthinaceaWilld. ex Steud.
    • Mentha trachilomaRaf.
      • (incomplete list)

Mentha canadensis is a species of mint native to North America (from the Northwest Territories to central Mexico) and the eastern part of Asia (from Siberia to Java). In North America, it is commonly known as Canada mint, [3] American wild mint, [4] and in Asia as Chinese mint, Sakhalin mint, [5] Japanese mint, [6] and East Asian wild mint. [7] The flowers are bluish or have a slight violet tint. The plant is upright, growing to about 4–18 in (10–46 cm) tall. Leaves grow opposite from each other, and flower bunches appear in the upper leaf axils. The mint grows in wet areas but not directly in water, so it will be found near sloughs, and lake and river edges. Plants bloom from July to August in their native habitats. [8]

Contents

The plants found in eastern Asia have been called Mentha sachalinensis, among other synonyms.

Description

Wild mint in Saskatchewan SK-WildMint.JPG
Wild mint in Saskatchewan

Mentha canadensis is a perennial plant with an underground creeping rhizome and upright shoots. It can grow to a height of about 18 inches (460 mm). It has hairy stems bearing opposite pairs of leaves. Each leaf is borne on a short stalk and has a wedge-shaped base and is lanceolate or ovate, with a toothed margin and a hairy surface. The flowers are borne in spikes at the tips of the shoots. The flowers may be bluish, pink or white. They are arranged in a spiral around the inflorescence. Each flower has five sepals, four petals, four stamens and a superior ovary. The fruits are dry and split open when ripe releasing the two seeds. [4]

Taxonomy

Mentha canadensis was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. [9] It has been described since under a large number of synonyms, including as varieties or subspecies of M. arvensis , some of which, such as M. arvensis var. sachalinensisBriq., were subsequently raised to the status of a full species. [2] Thus the Flora of China, in a volume published in 1994, lists M. canadensis and M. sachalinensis as separate species, distinguishing them on the basis of features such as degree of branching, hairiness and leaf shape. [10] More recent sources treat M. canadensis as a single variable species with many synonyms and a wide distribution in North America and eastern temperate and tropical Asia. [2] [1]

Mentha canadensis is an amphidiploid with 2n = 96 chromosomes. It is believed to be derived from ancient hybridization between M. arvensis (2n = 72) and M. longifolia (2n = 24). [2]

Distribution

Mentha canadensis has been found as a native species of mint around the world. Below is a detailed list of countries and states in which Mentha canadensis is considered to be native. [6]

Asia (both temperate and tropical)

Northern America

Cultivation

Mentha canadensis is cultivated throughout the world:[ citation needed ]

Uses

It is grown in Hungary for essential oil and menthol production. [11] It also contains a significant amount of pulegone. [12]

The leaves have a distinct peppermint smell when pinched or crushed as the plant contains aromatic oils. The leaves can be picked at any time during plant growth, and may be dried. They are used in making mint jelly, mint tea, and mint leaf candy. [13] First nations people use mint tea for bad breath or toothache, or to cure hiccups. The mint can also be used for fox or lynx bait. [14]

Mint essential oil is known to be effective as insect repellent for insects such as Drosophila melanogaster . [14]

Medicinal uses

One of the most important essential oils used in medicine is Japanese mint oil. Mentha canadensis is rich in natural menthol compared to other mint species, and menthol is used extensively in a number of pharmaceutical preparations. Approximately 4000 tons of Japanese mint oil and 2000 tons of menthol were produced in the world in 1998. The major producing countries are Brazil, Paraguay, Taiwan, Japan, China, India, and Thailand. [15]

Related Research Articles

<i>Mentha</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae

Mentha, also known as mint, is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is estimated that 13 to 24 species exist, but the exact distinction between species is unclear. Hybridization occurs naturally where some species' ranges overlap. Many hybrids and cultivars are known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peppermint</span> Hybrid flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae

Peppermint is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world. It is occasionally found in the wild with its parent species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spearmint</span> Species of mint

Spearmint, also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is naturalized in many other temperate parts of the world, including northern and southern Africa, North America, and South America. It is used as a flavouring in food and herbal teas. The aromatic oil, called oil of spearmint, is also used as a flavoring and sometimes as a scent.

<i>Mentha pulegium</i> Species of plant

Mentha pulegium, commonly (European) pennyroyal, or pennyrile, also called mosquito plant and pudding grass, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Crushed pennyroyal leaves emit a very strong fragrance similar to spearmint. Pennyroyal is a traditional folk remedy, emmenagogue, abortifacient, and culinary herb, but is toxic to the liver and has caused some deaths. European pennyroyal is related to an American species, Hedeoma pulegioides. Though they differ in genera, they share similar chemical properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menthol</span> Organic compound used as flavouring and analgesic

Menthol is an organic compound, specifically a monoterpenoid, that occurs naturally in the oils of several plants in the mint family, such as corn mint and peppermint. It is a white or clear waxy crystalline substance that is solid at room temperature and melts slightly above. The main form of menthol occurring in nature is (−)-menthol, which is assigned the (1R,2S,5R) configuration.

<i>Hepatica</i> Genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Hepatica is a genus of herbaceous perennials in the buttercup family, native to central and northern Europe, Asia and eastern North America. Some botanists include Hepatica within a wider interpretation of Anemone.

<i>Mentha aquatica</i> Species of flowering plant

Mentha aquatica is a perennial flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It grows in moist places and is native to much of Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia.

<i>Mentha suaveolens</i> Species of flowering plant

Mentha suaveolens, the apple mint, pineapple mint, woolly mint or round-leafed mint, is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to southern and western Europe including the Mediterranean region. It is a herbaceous, upright perennial plant that is most commonly grown as a culinary herb or for ground cover.

<i>Mentha longifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae

Mentha longifolia, also known as horse mint, brookmint, fillymint or St. John's horsemint, is a species of plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to Europe excluding Britain and Ireland, western and central Asia, and northern and southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulegone</span> Chemical compound

Pulegone is a naturally occurring organic compound obtained from the essential oils of a variety of plants such as Nepeta cataria (catnip), Mentha piperita, and pennyroyal. It is classified as a monoterpene.

<i>Erigeron canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Erigeron canadensis is an annual plant native throughout most of North America and Central America. It is also widely naturalized in Eurasia and Australia. Common names include horseweed, Canadian horseweed, Canadian fleabane, coltstail, marestail, and butterweed. It was the first weed to have developed glyphosate resistance, reported in 2001 from Delaware.

<i>Mentha arvensis</i> Species of flowering plant

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. Mentha canadensis, the related species, is also included in Mentha arvensis by some authors as two varieties, M. arvensis var. glabrata Fernald and M. arvensis var. piperascens Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey.

<i>Neolitsea</i> Genus of shrubs

Neolitsea is a genus of about 85 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the laurel family Lauraceae. They range from Indo-Malaysia to East Asia to Australia. The leaves are alternate, clustered, or verticillate, rarely subopposite. Species are dioecious, with separate male and female plants.

<i>Eucalyptus dives</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus dives, commonly known as the broad-leaved peppermint or blue peppermint, is a species of tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, finely fibrous bark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth bark above, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of eleven or more, white flowers and cup-shaped, hemispherical or conical fruit.

<i>Humulus japonicus</i> Species of flowering plant

Humulus japonicus, known as Japanese hops, is an ornamental plant in the family Cannabaceae. Some authorities have it as a synonym of Humulus scandens.

<i>Perilla frutescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Perilla frutescens, also called deulkkae or Korean perilla, is a species of Perilla in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is an annual plant native to Southeast Asia and Indian highlands, and is traditionally grown in the Korean peninsula, southern China, Japan and India as a crop.

<i>Mentha <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> gracilis</i> Species of flowering plant

Mentha × gracilis is a hybrid mint species within the genus Mentha, a sterile hybrid between Mentha arvensis (cornmint) and Mentha spicata. It is cultivated for its essential oil, used to flavour spearmint chewing gum. It is known by the common names of gingermint, redmint and Scotchmint in Europe, and as Scotch spearmint in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piperitone</span> Chemical compound

Piperitone is a natural monoterpene ketone which is a component of some essential oils. Both stereoisomers, the D-form and the L-form, are known. The D-form has a peppermint-like aroma and has been isolated from the oils of plants from the genera Cymbopogon, Andropogon, and Mentha. The L-form has been isolated from Sitka spruce.

<i>Mentha japonica</i> Species of mint

Mentha japonica is a species of plant in the family Lamiaceae, endemic to the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan. Initially described as Micromeria japonica by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel, it was first identified under its present name by Japanese botanist Tomitaro Makino in 1906. A relatively rare plant, it is classified by the Japanese Ministry of Environment as a Near Threatened species.

Mentha grandiflora is a plant species in the genus Mentha, endemic to eastern Australia. The species was described in 1848 by botanist George Bentham. Its epithet, grandiflora, means "with large flowers".

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Mentha canadensis L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Tucker, Arthur O.; Naczi, Robert F. C. (2007). "Mentha: An Overview of its Classification and Relationships". In Lawrence, Brian M. (ed.). Mint: The Genus Mentha. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group. pp. 1–39. ISBN   978-0-8493-0779-9.
  3. ↑ "Mentha arvensis L." ITIS Report.
  4. 1 2 "Mentha canadensis: American wild mint". Go Botany. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  5. ↑ Quattrocchi, Umberto (1999). CRC world dictionary of plant names : common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms, and etymology. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 1659. ISBN   0849326737.
  6. 1 2 "Mentha canadensis". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  7. ↑ English Names for Korean Native Plants (PDF). Pocheon: Korea National Arboretum. 2015. p. 537. ISBN   978-89-97450-98-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017– via Korea Forest Service.
  8. ↑ Vance, F.R.; Jowsey, J.R.; McLean, J.S. (1977), Wildflowers Across the Prairies, Saskatoon, SK: Western Producer Books, p. 141, ISBN   0-919306-74-8
  9. ↑ "Mentha canadensis L." The International Plant Names Index . Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  10. ↑ Li, Xi-wen & Hedge, Ian C. (1994). "Mentha". In Wu, Zhengyi; Raven, Peter H. & Hong, Deyuan (eds.). Flora of China (online). eFloras.org. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  11. ↑ Hornok, László (1992). Cultivation and processing of medicinal plants. Wiley. ISBN   9780471923831.
  12. ↑ Guenther, Ernest (1949). The essential oils. D. Van Nostrand Co. p. 663. ISBN   9780882750736.
  13. ↑ Elias, Thomas S; Dykeman, Peter A. (1990), Edible Wild Plants A North American Field Guide, New York NY: Sterling Publishing Company Inc., pp. 143–144, ISBN   0-8069-7488-5
  14. 1 2 Johnson Kershaw, MacKinnon Pojar (1995), Plants of the Western Boreal Forest and Aspen Parkland, Edmonton Alberta: Lone Pine Publishing and the Canadian Forest Service., p. 162, ISBN   1-55105-058-7
  15. ↑ Schultes, R. E. (1993). Conservation of Medicinal Plants, Edited by Olayiwola Akerele, Vernon Heywood & Hugh Synge. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, UK: xiii+ 362 pp., 20× 15× 3 cm, no price indicated, 1991. Environmental Conservation, 20(01), 93–93.
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