Mint

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Mint (plant), common name for a family of woody or herbaceous flowering plants of worldwide distribution, and for its well-known genus. Members of the mint family often contain aromatic oils, and many (often of Mediterranean origin) are cultivated as culinary herbs. These include marjoram and oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, savory, and basil. The mint genus itself contains many well-known cultivated species: peppermint, spearmint, and pennyroyal. These and other members of the family, such as lavender and shellflower, are grown as ornamentals.

The family belongs to an order comprising more than 10,000 species, which, although placed in 4 families, are contained primarily in the 3 largest: the mint family, with 5,600 species; the verbena family, with 1,900 species; and the borage family, with 2,500 species. The lennoa family contains only 6 species—fleshy root parasites that lack chlorophyll. The order characteristically has opposite, decussate leaves (pairs of leaves at right angles to one another), and the stems are often squarish in cross section. The sepals (outer floral whorls) and petals (inner floral whorls) are fused into tubes that usually have four or five lobes, or lips, and are irregular (bilaterally symmetrical). The two, four, or five stamens (male flower parts) are attached to the inside of the corolla tube, which is made up of the fused petals. The ovary (female flower part) is superior—that is, borne above and free from the other flower parts—and has two carpels (ovule-bearing flower parts).

Scientific classification: Mints make up the family Lamiaceae (formerly Labiatae) of the order Lamiales. The well-known mint genus is Mentha. Peppermint is classified as Mentha piperita, spearmint as Mentha spicata, and pennyroyal as Mentha pulegium. Lavender is classified in the genus Lavendula and shellflower in the genus Molucella.

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