Click on images to enlarge
lower leaves (Photo: Greg Jordan)
upper leaves and flower clusters (Photo: Greg Jordan)
close-up of flowers (Photo: Greg Jordan)
close-up of seeds (Photo: Steve Hurst at USDA PLANTS Database)
the very similar horse mint (Mentha longifolia), with hairy greyish-green leaves, which is sometimes regarded as a sub-species of Mentha spicata (Photo Sheldon Navie)
Scientific Name
Mentha spicata L.
Synonyms
Mentha viridis L.Mentha x spicata L.
Family
Labiatae (South Australia)Lamiaceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)
Common Names
common mint, English mint, European mint, garden mint, lamb mint, mint, spearmint
Origin
Native to north-eastern Africa (i.e. Egypt), western Asia and south-eastern Europe (i.e. Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Italy and Yugoslavia).
Naturalised Distribution
Widely naturalised in southern and eastern Australia (i.e. in many parts of eastern New South Wales, in the ACT and Victoria, in south-eastern South Australia and in south-western Western Australia). Also naturalised on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, sparingly naturalised in Tasmania, and was previously naturalised in south-eastern Queensland.
Also widely naturalised in other temperate regions of the world. It has been listed as a weed in New Zealand, Peru, the USA and Venezuela.
Notes
Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria and Western Australia, and as a "sleeper weed" in other parts of southern Australia.
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