Mentha spicata L.

Spearmint

Similar species

	Mentha arvensis	You are here Mentha spicata	Mentha × piperita
Common Name	field mint	spearmint	peppermint
Plant	Typically 4–24″ (10–60 cm) high. Stems are square in cross-section.	Like other members of the mint family, spearmint has square stems. They are light green, sometimes tinged with red, and 1–2′ (30–60 cm) high.	Up to 3′ (90 cm) tall. Like all mint family plants, stems are square in cross-section. They are green or purple, and usually slightly fuzzy.
Leaves	Opposite, simple, ¾–2½ ⨉ ⅜–¾″ (2–6.5 ⨉ 1–2 cm), with pointed tips and finely hairy undersides. Lower leaves are on short stalks, while upper leaves are sessile. Leaves are hairy, egg-shaped or lanceolate, and coarsely serrated. When fresh leaves are crushed, they have the odor of peppermint or sweet fruit.	Simple, opposite, 1¾–3½ ⨉ ½–1″ (5–9 ⨉ 1.5–3 cm), with serrated margins. Leaves are nearly hairless and sessile, or nearly so. Crushed leaves have a distinct spearmint odor.	Opposite, dark green with reddish veins, coarsely serrated, and 1½–3½ ⨉ ½–1½″ (4–9 ⨉ 1.5–4 cm).
Flowers	Pale purple (sometimes white or pink). They form whorls on the stem around leaf bases,. Each flower group is about 1″ (2.5 cm) around, containing about 20 flowers. Individual flowers are 1/16–⅛″ (3–4 mm) long, with a 5-lobed hairy calyx 1/32–1/16″ (1.5–2.5 mm) long. They have a peppermint odor. The corolla has four lobes, the uppermost of which is larger than the others. There are 4 stamens. Flowers appear in mid to late summer.	Slender pink or white spikes up to 5″ (12 cm) long. Individual flowers are about ⅛″ (3.2 mm) long. Flowers appear from July to September.	Purple, ⅛–¼″ (6–8 mm). The corolla has four lobes about ⅛″ (5 mm) in diameter. They appear in whorls called verticillasters around the stem, forming thick spikes. Flowers appear from mid to late summer.
Fruit	Four oval nutlets do not split open when dried. Each contains a single seed.	Seeds are ~1/32″ (0.6–0.9 mm), contained in a calyx that persists late in the season.	Peppermint does not produce seeds. It spreads vegetatively, via runners.
Range/ Zones			USDA Zones: 5-9

Mentha spicata description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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