Mentha crispata

Schrader ex Willdenow

Zhou ye liu lan xiang

LamiaceaeLeaves

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(c) Andreas Rockstein, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

Young shoots and leaves are edible and used for flavoring. The plant produces German spearmint oil.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant.

Asia, China, Europe, Russia,

Countries: Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, Belarus, Switzerland, China, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Georgia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Malta, Maldives, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, San Marino, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A herb with underground rhizomes. Stems are erect, 30-60 cm long and purplish. Leaves do not have leaf stalks. The leaves are 1-3 cm long and the base of the leaf is rounded. The edges of the leaves are slightly toothed.

Medicinal Uses

Spearmint has been used in traditional medicine.

Other Information

It is sold in local markets.

Notes

There are 25 Mentha species.

Names & Synonyms

Huo leng, Luo ci bo kuo, Ma du lu

A form/cultivar of Mentha spicata Linnaeus

References (2)

Cao, Y., et al, 2020, Ethnobotanical study on wild edible plants used by three trans-boundary ethnic groups in Jiangcheng County, Pu’er, Southwest China. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2020) 16:66
Li Hai-wen, Hedge, I.C., Lamiaceae. Flora of China. Vol. 17 p 238 and Flora of China. www.eFloras.org