Species Directory

The genus Mentha comprises plants of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. There are about a dozen recognized species, but the distinction is not entirely clear. Hybridization occurs naturally and a larger number of hybrids and cultivars have been described. Members of the Mentha genus have almost cosmopolitan distribution and some are considered invasive species. Three species are of commercial interest for the extraction of essential oils used in the flavor and fragrance industries: Mentha spicata L. (spearmint), Mentha arvensis L. (corn mint), and Mentha x piperita (L. peppermint; hybdrid of Mentha aquatica × Mentha spicata). Other species that are important as ancestors of the commercially grown mints are Mentha suaveolens (apple mint), mentha longifolia (horse mint), and Mentha aquatica (water mint).

For further information about mint species, please click on the links below:

Mentha spicata

spearmint

The image below summarized current knowledge regarding the ancestry of commercial mints:

A few notes:

  • Commercially grown Native spearmint (M. spicata) is a triplod (2n=36), while the spearmint parent of peppermint is likely to be a tetraploid (2n=48))
  • Water mint (M. aquatica) is an octoploid
  • Peppermint (M. x. piperita) is a hexaploid
  • Both horse mint (M. longifolia) and apple mint (M. suaveolens) are diploids