What Are the Characteristics of Mint? A Complete Guide to Mint in One Article

Flowers & Gardening Jan 1, 1970 0 views

Mint is a perennial herbaceous plant with persistent roots, also known as "wild mint" and "night rest fragrance," and it has a local name, "silver dan grass." Mint is most widely distributed in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In China, its cultivation areas are mainly concentrated in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, but the cultivated area has decreased compared with before.

Other Names for Mint

Mint is also known as "wild mint" and "night rest fragrance," and it has a local name, "silver dan grass."

Morphological Characteristics of Mint

Mint has upright stems about 30-60 cm tall. The lower part of the plant bears slender fibrous roots and horizontal rhizomes, and fine soft hairs grow on both the upper and lower parts, with many branches.

The leaves of mint are generally round (elliptical) and lanceolate (ovate), and some are sparsely oblong, pointed at the front and rounded at the back, with relatively coarse large serrations along the edges.

The flowers of mint have a spherical outline, about 18 mm in diameter. The corolla is light purple, about 4 mm long, and like the stem, it is covered with fine soft hairs on the outside. The petals are oblong.

The yellow-brown fruit of mint is egg-bead shaped.

Growth Habits of Mint

Mint has a relatively strong ability to adapt to the environment. Wild mint mostly grows by the water in moist places and can grow at elevations of 2100 m, and at most can grow at elevations of 3500 m.

Because it is a plant with persistent roots, it can survive the winter through its surviving rhizomes, and a low temperature of -15°C will not kill it; if the temperature is between 20-30°C and water and fertilizer are supplied normally, its growth accelerates as the temperature rises.

Mint needs sufficient sunlight, which is beneficial to its flowering.

Its adaptability to soil is also relatively strong. Sandy soil and alluvial soil are most suitable, and next, the soil's drainage performance should be good.

Value and Uses of Mint

Edible value: The main parts of mint that can be eaten are the stems and leaves, and it can also be juiced. Mint can not only be used for seasoning, but also as a spice, and it can also be brewed into tea and mixed into drinks.

Medicinal value: Mint has a long history of use as traditional Chinese medicine. The whole plant can be used as medicine, and it has a good effect on treating conditions such as cold and fever, headache, muscle pain, and incomplete eruption of measles.

The Floral Language of Mint

Because of its incomparably fresh fragrance, mint symbolizes "noble virtue."