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|image_caption=Mint leaves
|image_caption=Mint leaves
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Mentha (from the Greek name of the nymph Minthe). Labiatae. Mint. Strong-scented perennial herbs; grown mostly for their essential oils but sometimes for ornament.
The term mint, often applied to various species of Labiatae, is most frequently used to designate plants of the genus Mentha. This genus is characterized by its square sts. and opposite simple lvs. in common with others of the family, and especially by its aromatic fragrance, its small purple, pink or white fls., with mostly regular 10-nerved calyx, slightly irregular 4-cleft corolla and 4 anther-bearing stamens, crowded in axillary whorls and the whorls often in terminal spikes; ovary 4-parted, style 2-cleft: nutlets ovoid and smooth. —Many forms have been described, and the synonymy is extensive. About 30 species are now recognized, all native in the North Temperate Zone, about half of them being native or naturalized in N. Amer. Six species are cult. more or less for the production of aromatic essential oil, which is found in all parts of the herb, and especially in minute globules on the surface of the lvs. and calyx. Some of the species hybridize freely, producing innumerable intergrading forms which make the limitation of certain species difficult.
The mints are scarcely horticultural subjects, although M. rotundifolia and M. Pulegium, as well as the little M. Requienii, may be used as border plants or ground-covers and for the ornamental foliage of some of the forms. They propagate readily by cuttings and division; some of them produce stolons.
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'''''Mentha''''' ('''mint''') is a [[genus]] of about 25 [[species]] (and many hundreds of [[Variety (botany)|varieties]]<ref name="OxfordCompanion">{{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |authorlink=Alan_Davidson_%28food_writer%29 |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |year=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-211579-0 |pages=508}}</ref>) of [[flowering plant]]s in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Lamiaceae]] (Mint Family). Species within Mentha have a wide distribution around the world due to its usefulness. Several mint [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]]s commonly occur.
'''''Mentha''''' ('''mint''') is a [[genus]] of about 25 [[species]] (and many hundreds of [[Variety (botany)|varieties]]<ref name="OxfordCompanion">{{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |authorlink=Alan_Davidson_%28food_writer%29 |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |year=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-211579-0 |pages=508}}</ref>) of [[flowering plant]]s in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Lamiaceae]] (Mint Family). Species within Mentha have a wide distribution around the world due to its usefulness. Several mint [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]]s commonly occur.
