SEARCH AND WILDFLOWER HOME PAGE BLUE/PURPLE FLOWERS CONTACT US
|
Mentha arvensis (Field Mint) Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Montane.
Wetlands, wet meadows. Summer. This lovely Mint is often lost in lush greenery of wet areas. If you are walking through wetlands and smell mint, stop and search for Mentha arvensis. Clusters of tiny lavender/pink flowers are tucked into axils of leaves that stick out horizontally and rigidly. Mentha arvensis is widely distributed in the West and across the northern U.S. Mentha arvensis was first named and described by Linnaeus in 1753 from the nearly identical European species. "Mentha" is the classical Latin name for Mint and is derived from mythology: Minthe was a nymph lusted for by Hades, whose wife, Persephone, was not too fond of this shady pass-time, so she removed Mentha from the field of play by putting her into a field ("arvensis") of flowers -- Mentha arvensis. |
|
|
Mentha arvensis
(Field Mint) Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Montane.
Wetlands, wet meadows. Summer. |
Range map © John Kartesz,
County Color Key
|
Range map for Mentha arvensis |