Botanical name:Mentha x piperitaFamily:Lamiaceae (Mint family) Synonyms: Mentha piperata, Mentha piperita
Peppermint is a herbaceous perennial plant, growing to 30–90 cm tall from
rhizomes. The rhizomes are wide-spreading and fleshy. Leaves are 4–9 cm
long, 1.5–4 cm broad, dark green with reddish veins, and with a pointed
tip and coarsely toothed margins. Leaves are very much like the mint
leaves. The leaves and stems are usually slightly hairy. The flowers are
purple, tiny, 6–8 mm long, 4-petalled, about 5 mm across. They are borne
in whorls around the stem, forming thick, blunt spikes. Flowering is from
mid to late summer. It was first described by Linnaeus from specimens
collected in England - he treated it as a species, but it is now
universally agreed to be a hybrid. is a hybrid mint, a cross between
watermint (Mentha aquatica) and Spearmint
(Mentha spicata). Peppermint is sometimes regarded as 'the
world's oldest medicine', with archaeological evidence placing its use at
least as far back as ten thousand years ago. Peppermint has a high menthol
content, and is often used as a flavouring in tea, ice cream,
confectionery, chewing gum, and toothpaste. The oil also contains menthone
and menthyl esters. It is the oldest and most popular flavour of
mint-flavoured confectionery. Peppermint can also be found in some
shampoos and soaps, which give the hair a minty scent and produce a
cooling sensation on the skin.
Identification credit: Tabish
Photographed in Lodhi Garden, Delhi.
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The flower labeled Peppermint is ...