Mentha aquatica

Mentha aquatica
Plant in flower
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Mentha
Species:	M. aquatica
Binomial name
Mentha aquatica L.
Synonyms
List Marrubium aquaticum (L.) Uspensky Mentha acuta Opiz Mentha acutata Opiz Mentha affinis Boreau nom. illeg. Mentha aromatica Opiz ex Déségl. Mentha augusta Opiz ex Déségl. Mentha auneticensis Opiz Mentha aurita Weihe ex Fresen. Mentha avellinii Tod. ex Bertol. Mentha avellinii Tod. ex Lojac. Mentha brachiata Weihe ex Fresen. Mentha bugulifolia Weihe ex Fresen. Mentha calaminthifolia (Vis.) Heinr.Braun Mentha capitata Opiz Mentha cetica Heinr.Braun Mentha chaixii Strail Mentha cordata Jan ex Nyman Mentha crenatodentata Strail Mentha denticulata Strail Mentha deseglisei Malinv. nom. illeg. Mentha dubia Chaix ex Vill. Mentha dunensis Strail Mentha duriuscula Heinr.Braun & Topitz Mentha duriuscula (Heinr.Braun & Topitz) Trautm. Mentha elongata (Pérard) Heinr.Braun Mentha eriantha K.Koch Mentha glabra Colla nom. illeg. Mentha glomerata Stokes Mentha grandidentata Strail Mentha hirsuta Huds. Mentha hirta Caldas nom. illeg. Mentha hybrida Aresch. Mentha hygrophila Topitz Mentha hystrix Heinr.Braun Mentha incisoserrata Strail Mentha intermedia Host nom. illeg. Mentha × intricata Debeaux Mentha lateovata Strail Mentha latifolia Nolte ex Hornem. nom. illeg. Mentha limicola Strail Mentha limnetes (Topitz) Trautm. Mentha limosa (Schur) Heinr.Braun Mentha littoralis Strail Mentha lloydii Boreau Mentha lobeliana (Becker) Heinr.Braun Mentha macrocephala Strail Mentha macrophylla Waisb. ex Trautm. nom. illeg. Mentha microcephala Strail Mentha nederheimensis Strail Mentha nepetifolia Lej. Mentha nigrescens Weihe ex Fresen. Mentha obliqua Raf. Mentha obtuseserrata Opiz ex Malinv. Mentha obtusifolia Opiz ex Déségl. Mentha origanoides Ten. Mentha origanoides Lej. ex Fingerh. nom. illeg. Mentha ortmanniana Opiz Mentha paludosa Sole Mentha palustris Mill. Mentha pedunculata (Pers.) Poir. Mentha pireana Strail Mentha polyanthetica (Topitz) Trautm. Mentha probabilis Schur Mentha purpurea Host Mentha pyrifolia Heinr.Braun Mentha pyrifolia A.Kern. nom. illeg. Mentha ramosissima Strail Mentha ranina Opiz Mentha rauscheri Topitz Mentha riparia Schreb. Mentha riparia Lej. ex Malinv. nom. illeg. Mentha rudaeana Opiz Mentha sativa Sm. nom. illeg. Mentha soleana Strail Mentha stagnalis Topitz Mentha stagnalis (Topitz) Trautm. Mentha stolonifera Opiz Mentha subspicata Weihe ex Fresen. Mentha subthermalis Trautm. Mentha tinantiana Lej. ex Malinv. Mentha trojana Heinr.Braun Mentha umbrosa Opiz Mentha urticifolia Ten. Mentha viennensis Opiz Mentha weiheana Opiz Mentha weissenburgensis F.W.Schultz ex Nyman nom. inval.

Mentha aquatica (water mint; syn. Mentha hirsuta Huds.) is a perennial flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It grows in moist places and is native to much of Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia.

Water mint is a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial plant growing to 90 centimetres (35 in) tall. The stems are square in cross section, green or purple, and variably hairy to almost hairless. The rhizomes are wide-spreading, fleshy, and bear fibrous roots. The leaves are ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 2 to 6 centimetres (0.79 to 2.36 in) long and 1 to 4 centimetres (0.39 to 1.57 in) broad, green (sometimes purplish), opposite, toothed, and vary from hairy to nearly hairless. The flowers of the watermint are tiny, densely crowded, purple, tubular, pinkish to lilac in colour and form a terminal hemispherical inflorescence; flowering is from mid to late summer. Water mint is visited by many types of insects, and can be characterized by a generalized pollination syndrome, but can also spread by underground rhizomes. All parts of the plant have a distinctly minty smell. A variety known as Mentha aquatica var. litoralis is native to areas of Sweden and Finland near the Baltic Sea. It is unbranched, hairless, with narrower leaves and paler flowers.

Water mint is native to much of Europe, northern Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced to North and South America, Australia and some Atlantic islands.

As the name suggests, water mint occurs in the shallow margins and channels of streams, rivers, pools, dikes, ditches, canals, wet meadows, marshes and fens. If the plant grows in the water itself, it rises above the surface of the water. It generally occurs on mildly acidic to calcareous (it is common on soft limestone) mineral or peaty soils.M. aquatica can occur in certain fen-meadow habitats such as the Juncus subnodulosus-Cirsium palustre plant association. It is a component of Purple moor grass and rush pastures - a type of Biodiversity ActPlan habitat in the UK.

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Wikipedia