{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{speciesbox | image = Mentha arvensis - põldmünt Keila.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Maiz-Tome, L. |year=2016 |title=''Mentha arvensis'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T64317970A67730082 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64317970A67730082.en |access-date=5 December 2024}}</ref> | genus = Mentha | species = arvensis | authority = L. | synonyms = {{ collapsible list |''Calamintha arvensis'' <small>(L.) Garsault</small> |''Mentha agrestis'' <small>Sole</small> |''Mentha agrestis'' <small>Hegetschw.</small> |''Mentha agrestris'' <small>Sole</small> |''Mentha albae-carolinae'' <small>Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha alberti'' <small>Sennen</small> |''Mentha allionii'' <small>Boreau</small> |''Mentha angustifolia'' <small>Schreb.</small> |''Mentha anomala'' <small>Hérib.</small> |''Mentha approximata'' <small>(Wirtg.) Strail</small> |''Mentha arenaria'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha arguta'' <small>Opiz</small> |''Mentha argutissima'' <small>Borbás & Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha argutissima'' var. ''subpilosa'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha arvensis'' var. ''caespitosa'' <small>Boenn.</small> |''Mentha arvensis'' var. ''lanceolata'' <small>Becker</small> |''Mentha arvensis'' var. ''legitima'' <small>Becker</small> |''Mentha arvensis'' var. ''minor'' <small>Becker</small> |''Mentha arvensis'' var. ''parietariifolia'' <small>Becker</small> |''Mentha arvensis'' subsp. ''parietariifolia'' <small>(Becker) Briq.</small> |''Mentha arvensis'' var. ''parviflora'' <small>Boenn.</small> |''Mentha arvensis'' var. ''procumbens'' <small>Becker</small> |''Mentha arvensis'' var. ''radicans'' <small>Boenn.</small> |''Mentha atrovirens'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha austriaca'' <small>Jacq.</small> |''Mentha badensis'' <small>J.Fellm. ex Ledeb.</small> |''Mentha badensis'' <small>C.C.Gmel.</small> |''Mentha baguetiana'' <small>Strail</small> |''Mentha barbata'' <small>Opiz ex Déségl.</small> |''Mentha bracteolata'' <small>Opiz ex Déségl.</small> |''Mentha campestris'' <small>Schur</small> |''Mentha campicola'' <small>Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha collina'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha cuneifolia'' <small>(Lej.) Domin</small> |''Mentha deflexa'' <small>Dumort.</small> |''Mentha densiflora'' <small>Opiz</small> |''Mentha densifoliata'' <small>Strail</small> |''Mentha diffusa'' <small>Lej.</small> |''Mentha dissitiflora'' <small>Sennen</small> |''Mentha divaricata'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha divergens'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha dubia'' <small>Schleich. ex Suter</small> |''Mentha duffourii'' <small>Sennen</small> |''Mentha duftschmidii'' <small>(Topitz) Trautm.</small> |''Mentha duftschmidii'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha ehrhartiana'' <small>Lej. & Courtois</small> |''Mentha exigua'' <small>Lucé</small> |''Mentha flagellifera'' <small>Schur</small> |''Mentha flexuosa'' <small>Strail</small> |''Mentha florida'' <small>Tausch ex Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha fochii'' <small>Sennen</small> |''Mentha fontana'' <small>Weihe ex Strail</small> |''Mentha fontana'' var. ''brevibracteata'' <small>Topitz & Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha fontana'' var. ''conferta'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha fontqueri'' <small>Sennen</small> |''Mentha fossicola'' <small>Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha gallica'' <small>(Topitz) Domin</small> |''Mentha gentiliformis'' <small>Strail</small> |''Mentha gentilis'' <small>Georgi</small> |''Mentha gracilescens'' <small>Opiz ex Strail</small> |''Mentha graveolens'' <small>Opiz</small> |''Mentha hillebrandtii'' <small>Ortmann ex Malinv.</small> |''Mentha hostii'' <small>Boreau</small> |''Mentha hostii'' var. ''arvina'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha intermedia'' <small>Nees ex Bluff & Fingerh.</small> |''Mentha joffrei'' <small>Sennen</small> |''Mentha kitaibeliana'' <small>Heinr.Braun ex Haring</small> |''Mentha lamiifolia'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha lanceolata'' <small>Benth.</small> |''Mentha lapponica'' <small>Wahlenb.</small> |''Mentha lata'' <small>Opiz ex Déségl.</small> |''Mentha latifolia'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha latissima'' <small>Schur</small> |''Mentha laxa'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha longibracteata'' <small>Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha maculata'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha melissifolia'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha minor'' <small>Opiz ex Déségl.</small> |''Mentha moenchii'' <small>Pérard</small> |''Mentha mosana'' <small>Lej. & Courtois</small> |''Mentha multiflora'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha multiflora'' var. ''serpentina'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha mutabilis'' <small>(Topitz) Domin</small> |''Mentha nemorosa'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha nemorum'' <small>Boreau</small> |''Mentha nobilis'' <small>Weihe ex Fingerh.</small> |''Mentha nummularia'' <small>Schreb.</small> |''Mentha obtusata'' <small>Opiz</small> |''Mentha obtusodentata'' <small>(Topitz) Domin</small> |''Mentha ocymoides'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha odorata'' <small>Opiz ex Déségl.</small> |''Mentha origanifolia'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha ovata'' <small>Schur</small> |''Mentha palitzensis'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha paludosa'' <small>Nees ex Bluff & Fingerh.</small> |''Mentha palustris'' <small>Moench</small> |''Mentha parvifolia'' <small>Opiz</small> |''Mentha parvula'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha pascuorum'' <small>(Topitz) Trautm.</small> |''Mentha pastoris'' <small>Sennen</small> |''Mentha piersiana'' <small>Borbás</small> |''Mentha pilosa'' <small>Spreng. ex Wallr.</small> |''Mentha pilosella'' <small>Pérard</small> |''Mentha plagensis'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha plicata'' <small>Opiz</small> |''Mentha polymorpha'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha praeclara'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha praecox'' <small>Sole</small> |''Mentha praticola'' <small>Opiz</small> |''Mentha procumbens'' <small>Thuill.</small> |''Mentha prostrata'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha pulchella'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha pulegiformis'' <small>Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha pumila'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha rigida'' <small>Strail</small> |''Mentha rothii'' <small>Nees ex Bluff & Fingerh.</small> |''Mentha rotundata'' <small>Opiz</small> |''Mentha ruderalis'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha salebrosa'' <small>Boreau</small> |''Mentha sativa'' <small>Roxb.</small> |''Mentha schreberi'' <small>Pérard</small> |''Mentha scrophulariifolia'' <small>Lej. & Courtois</small> |''Mentha segetalis'' <small>Opiz</small> |''Mentha silvicola'' <small>Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha simplex'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha slichoviensis'' <small>Opiz</small> |''Mentha sparsiflora'' <small>Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha sparsiflora'' var. ''pascuorum'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha subcollina'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha subcordata'' <small>Colla ex Lamotte</small> |''Mentha subfontanea'' <small>Topitz</small> |''Mentha subinodora'' <small>Schur</small> |''Mentha sylvatica'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha tenuicaulis'' <small>Strail</small> |''Mentha tenuifolia'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha thayana'' <small>Heinr.Braun</small> |''Mentha uliginosa'' <small>Strail</small> |''Mentha vanhaesendonckii'' <small>Strail</small> |''Mentha varians'' <small>Host</small> |''Mentha verisimilis'' <small>Strail</small> |''Mentha villosa'' <small>Becker</small> |''Mentha viridula'' <small>Host</small> }} | synonyms_ref =<ref>{{cite web |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30026217-2#synonyms |title=''Mentha arvensis'' L. |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2017 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=1 August 2020 |archive-date=13 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113191320/http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30026217-2#synonyms |url-status=live }}</ref> }}
'''''Mentha arvensis''''', the '''corn mint''', '''field mint''', or '''wild mint''', is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It has a circumboreal distribution, being native to the temperate regions of Europe and western and central Asia, east to the Himalaya and eastern Siberia, and North America.<ref name=empp>{{cite web |url=http://ww2.bgbm.org/_EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameId=111936&PTRefFk=500000 |title=Mentha arvensis |date=2010 |website= Euro+Med Plantbase Project |publisher=Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718044612/http://ww2.bgbm.org/_EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameId=111936&PTRefFk=500000 |archive-date=18 July 2011 }}</ref><ref name=grin>{{GRIN | access-date = 18 December 2017}}</ref><ref name=fnwe>{{cite web |url=http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=3517 |title=''Mentha arvensis'' L. |last=Stace |first= C. |editor-last1=van der Meijden |editor-first1=R. |editor-last2=de Kort |editor-first2=I. |date=11 March 2008 |publisher=Flora of NW Europe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311045747/http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=3517 |archive-date=11 March 2008 }}</ref> ''Mentha canadensis'', the related species, is also included in ''Mentha arvensis'' by some authors as two varieties, ''M. arvensis'' var. ''glabrata'' Fernald (North American plants such as American Wild Mint) and ''M. arvensis'' var. ''piperascens'' Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey (eastern Asian plants such as Japanese mint).<ref name="grin1"/><ref> {{cite book |last=Quattrocchi |first= Umberto |year=1947 |title= CRC World dictionary of plant names: Common names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synyonyms, and Etymology |volume= III M-Q |publisher= CRC Press |page= 1659}}</ref>
It grows in moist places, especially along streams.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=mear4 |title=Mentha arvensis |date=2013<!-- From source page --> |website=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center |publisher=The University of Texas at Austin |access-date=16 January 2022 |archive-date=16 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116223554/https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=mear4 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Description== Wild mint is a herbaceous perennial plant generally growing to {{convert|10|–|60|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} and rarely up to {{convert|100|cm|in|-1|abbr=on}} tall. It has a creeping rootstock from which grow erect or semi-sprawling squarish stems.
The leaves are in opposite pairs, simple, {{convert|2|–|6.5|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1|–|2|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} broad, hairy, and with a coarsely serrated margin.
The flowers are pale purple (occasionally white or pink), in whorls on the stem at the bases of the leaves. Each flower is {{convert|3|to|4|mm|in|frac=32|abbr=on}} long and has a five-lobed hairy calyx, a four-lobed corolla with the uppermost lobe larger than the others and four stamens. The fruit is a two-chambered carpel.<ref name=fnwe/><ref name=blamey>{{cite book |last1=Blamey |first1=M. |last2=Grey-Wilson |first2=C. |date=1989 |title= Flora of Britain and Northern Europe |location= |publisher= |page= |isbn=0-340-40170-2}}</ref><ref name=rhs>{{cite book |editor-last=Huxley |editor-first=A. |year= 1992|title= New RHS Dictionary of Gardening |publisher= Macmillan |isbn=0-333-47494-5}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/corn-mint |title=Corn mint: ''Mentha arvensis'' |publisher=NatureGate |access-date=12 December 2013 |archive-date=12 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212222059/http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/corn-mint |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Subspecies== Subspecies include:<ref name=empp/> *''Mentha arvensis'' subsp. ''arvensis''. *''Mentha arvensis'' subsp. ''agrestis'' (Sole) Briq. *''Mentha arvensis'' subsp. ''austriaca'' (Jacq.) Briq. *''Mentha arvensis'' subsp. ''lapponica'' (Wahlenb.) Neuman *''Mentha arvensis'' subsp. ''palustris'' (Moench) Neumann *''Mentha arvensis'' var. ''piperascenes'' Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey – Japanese/Chinese/Korean mint *''Mentha arvensis'' subsp. ''parietariifolia'' (Becker) Briq. *''Mentha arvensis'' subsp. ''haplocalyx'' (Linnaeus, e.g. var. sachalinensis)<ref name="FoC17">{{cite web |title=Mentha sachalinensis in Flora of China |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200019820 |work=Flora of China (series) Vol 17 |page=237 |quote=Mentha sachalinensis (Briquet ex Miyabe & Miyake) Kudô, J. Coll. Sci. Imp. Univ. Tokyo. 43(10): 47. 1921. 东北薄荷 dong bei bo he. |access-date=2017-06-19 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103350/http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200019820 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The related species ''Mentha canadensis'' is also included in ''M. arvensis'' by some authors as two varieties, ''M. arvensis'' var. ''glabrata'' Fernald (in reference to North American plants) and ''M. arvensis'' var. ''piperascens'' Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey (in reference to eastern Asian plants).<ref name=grin1>{{GRIN | ''Mentha canadensis'' | 313998 | access-date = 18 December 2017}}</ref><ref name=CRCNames>{{cite book |last=Quattrocchi |first=Umberto |title=CRC World dictionary of plant names: Common names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synyonyms, and Etymology |volume=III M-Q |year=1947 |publisher=CRC Press |page=1659}}</ref>
==Uses== The leaves have been made into tea to treat colds or aid digestion.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fagan|first=Damian|title=Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert|publisher=FalconGuides|year=2019|isbn=978-1-4930-3633-2|location=Guilford, CT|page=53|oclc=1073035766}}</ref> They can also be eaten raw.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Benoliel|first=Doug|title=Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest|publisher=Skipstone|year=2011|isbn=978-1-59485-366-1|edition=Rev. and updated|location=Seattle, WA|page=80|oclc=668195076}}</ref>
Chemical substances that can be extracted from wild mint include menthol, menthone, isomenthone, neomenthol, limonene, methyl acetate, piperitone, beta-caryophyllene, alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, tannins and flavonoids.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shaikh |first1=Mosma Nadim |last2=Suryawanshi |first2=Yogesh Chandrakant |last3=Mokat |first3=Digambar Nabhu |title=Volatile Profiling and Essential Oil Yield of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf Treated with Rhizosphere Fungi and Some Important Fertilizers |journal=Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants |date=4 March 2019 |volume=22 |issue=2 |page=477-483 |doi=10.1080/0972060X.2019.1613933|s2cid=191177588 }}</ref><ref name="Boston" /> Mint extracts and menthol-related chemicals are used in food, drinks, cough medicines, creams and cigarettes.<ref name="Boston">{{cite web |author1=Maria Kostka-Rokosz |author2=Yelena Yalli |author3=Lana Dvorkin |author4=Julia Whelan |url=http://www.bu.edu/bhlp/Clinical/cross-cultural/herbal_index/herbs/Mentha%20Arvensis%20Piperascens.html |title=''Mentha Arvensis Piperascens'' |work=Boston Healing Landscape Project |publisher=Boston University School of Medicine |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150319093020/http://www.bu.edu/bhlp/Clinical/cross-cultural/herbal_index/herbs/Mentha%20Arvensis%20Piperascens.html |archive-date=2015-03-19 |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> Menthol is widely used in dental care, as a mouthwash potentially inhibiting streptococci and lactobacilli bacteria.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Molecules |date=22 April 2015 |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=7329–7358 |title=Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oils and Their Isolated Constituents against Cariogenic Bacteria: A Systematic Review |vauthors=Freires IA, Denny C, Benso B, de Alencar SM, Rosalen PL |pmid=25911964 |pmc=6272492 |doi=10.3390/molecules20047329 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
== Diseases == Two main diseases that can significantly damage Japanese mint (''M. arvensis'' var. ''piperascens)'' and its yield are the rust fungus and the mildew attacks.<ref name="sievers">Sievers, A. F., & Lowman, M. S. (1933). ''Commercial possibilities of Japanese mint in the United States as a source of natural menthol'' (No. 378). US Dept. of Agriculture.</ref> Mildew attacks usually only occur on the west coast of United States where the weather can be foggy and humid, a condition that attracts mildew. Rust fungus is a disease that is common for most of the Mentha plants such as peppermint and spearmint. These diseases are flagged due to the improbability of controlling once it starts in a mint farm. They are typically cut immediately when discovered to help reduce the probability of contaminating the rest of the plant leaves.<ref name=sievers/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} {{Wikispecies}} * [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4745,4779,4780 Jepson Manual Treatment] * [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Mentha+arvensis Photo gallery]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q160585}} {{Mint}}
arvensis Category:Flora of Asia Category:Flora of Europe Category:Flora of Northern America Category:Leaf vegetables Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus