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Taxon:  Mentha spicata L.



Summary
Genus:
Mentha
Section:
Mentha
Family:
Lamiaceae (alt. Labiatae)
Subfamily:
Nepetoideae
Tribe:
Mentheae
Subtribe:
Menthinae
Nomen number:
24082
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:576. 1753
Comment:
probably originated from allopolyploidy
Verified:
09/20/2011 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
0 (0  active, 0  available) in Australian Pastures Genebank. 
Other conspecific taxa
Mentha spicata L. subsp. condensata (Briq.) Greuter & Burdet (0 active accession[s])
Mentha spicata L. subsp. spicata (0 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
No images


Reference(s)
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  2. Allan, H. H. B. et al. Flora of New Zealand. 1961-
  3. Bisset, N. G., ed. Herbal drugs and phytopharmaceuticals. A handbook for practice on a scientific basis. 1994
  4. Castroviejo, S. et al., eds. Flora iberica: plantas vasculares de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares. 1989-
  5. Cronquist, A. et al. Intermountain flora. 1972-
  6. Davis, P. H., ed. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. 1965-1988
  7. Duke, J. A. et al. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. 2002
  8. Encke, F. et al. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage. 1984
  9. Erhardt, W. et al. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen. 2008
  10. Esquivel, M. et al. 1992. 14. Inventory of the cultivated plants. "...y tienen faxones y fabas muy diversos de los nuestros..." Origin, evolution and diversity of Cuban plant genetic resources. 2 vols. 1992 324.
  11. Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
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  13. Foster, S. & C. Hobbs. A field guide to Western medicinal plants and herbs. 2002
  14. Foster, S. & J. A. Duke. A field guide to medicinal plants: Eastern/Central North America, 2nd ed. 2000
  15. Gobert, V. et al. 2002. Hybridization in the section Mentha (Lamiaceae) inferred from AFLP markers. Amer. J. Bot. 89:2017-2023.
  16. Grellin, J. K. & J. Philpott. A reference guide to medicinal plants. 1990
  17. Greuter, W. et al., eds. Med-Checklist. 1984-
  18. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm.
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  21. Hara, H. et al. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal. 1978-1982
  22. Harley, R. M. in P. H. Davis. 1980. Materials for a flora of Turkey: 37. Labiatae, Plumbaginaceae, Plantaginaceae. Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 38:38.
  23. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. Flora of Ethiopia. 1989- (and Eritrea. 2000)
  24. Huxley, A., ed. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 1992
  25. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. 2008
  26. Iwatsuki, K. et al. Flora of Japan. 1993-
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Common names
English
spearmint –
French
menthe verte –
German
grüne Minze –
Krauseminze –
Portuguese
hortelã-comum –
Portuguese (Brazil)
hortelã-preta –
hortelã-verde –
Spanish
menta romana –
yerbabuena –
Swedish
grönmynta –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaCyprus  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaLebanon  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaSyria  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeAlbania  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeBulgaria  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeFormer Yugoslavia  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeGreece  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItaly  
2CultivatedAfrica Africa  
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateChinaChina  
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaJapan  
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaCyprus  
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentPakistan  
2CultivatedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  
2CultivatedAustralasiaNew ZealandNew Zealand  
2CultivatedEurope Europe  
2CultivatedEuropeEast EuropeRussian Federation-European partEuropean part 
2CultivatedNorthern America Canada  
2CultivatedNorthern America United States  
2CultivatedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanWest Indies  
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalAzores 
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalMadeira Islands 
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaSpainCanary Islands 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateCaucasusGeorgia  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateCaucasusRussian Federation-CiscaucasiaCiscaucasia 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaJapan  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTurkmenistan  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateSiberiaRussian FederationIrkutsk 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaAfghanistan  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaCyprus  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIran  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentPakistan  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaNew ZealandNew Zealand  
4NaturalizedEuropeEast EuropeBelarus  
4NaturalizedEuropeEast EuropeMoldova  
4NaturalizedEuropeEast EuropeUkraine  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeAustria  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeBelgium  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeCzechoslovakia  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeGermany  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeHungary  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropeNetherlands  
4NaturalizedEuropeMiddle EuropePoland  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeDenmark  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeIreland  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeNorway  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeSweden  
4NaturalizedEuropeNorthern EuropeUnited Kingdom  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeAlbania  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeBulgaria  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeFormer Yugoslavia  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeGreece  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItaly  
4NaturalizedEuropeSoutheastern EuropeRomania  
4NaturalizedEuropeSouthwestern EuropeFrance  
4NaturalizedEuropeSouthwestern EuropeSpain  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaBrazilBrazil  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaArgentina  
Native
Asia-Temperate
  • WESTERN ASIA: Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
Europe
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy
Cultivated
Africa
  • REGION: Africa
Asia-Temperate
  • CHINA: China
  • EASTERN ASIA: Japan
  • WESTERN ASIA: Cyprus, Turkey
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Pakistan
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
  • NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand
Europe
  • REGION: Europe
  • EAST EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part]
Northern America
  • REGION: Canada, United States
Southern America
  • CARIBBEAN: West Indies
Naturalized
Africa
  • MACARONESIA: Spain [Canary Islands], Portugal [Azores, Madeira Islands]
Asia-Temperate
  • CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Georgia
  • EASTERN ASIA: Japan
  • MIDDLE ASIA: Turkmenistan
  • SIBERIA: Russian Federation [Irkutsk]
  • WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Turkey
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Pakistan
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
  • NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand
Europe
  • EAST EUROPE: Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine
  • MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland
  • NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania
  • SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France
Southern America
  • BRAZIL: Brazil
  • SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Food additivesflavoring Hanelt, P., ed. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6. 2001
Materialsessential oils Lawrence, B. M. 1992. Chemical components of Labiatae oils and their exploitation. Advances in labiate science. 1992 400.
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=24082. Accessed 13 December 2025.


GRIN-Global project