Mentha piperita (also known as Mentha balsamea Wild) is a hybrid mint that is a mix between spearmint and watermint. The plant is native to Europe and the Middle East, but it is now extensively distributed and grown across the world. It can be discovered in the wild with its parent species on rare occasions.

Although the genus Mentha contains more than 25 species, peppermint is the most widely used. While Western peppermint comes from Mentha piperita, Chinese peppermint, or “Bohe,” comes from Mentha haplocalyx fresh leaves. Mentha piperita and Mentha haplocalyx are both known as plant sources of menthol and menthone and are among the oldest culinary and medicinal herbs.

Carl Linnaeus initially characterized peppermint in 1753 from specimens gathered in England; he classified it as a species, but it is now widely accepted to be a hybrid. It is a herbaceous, rhizomatous perennial plant with smooth stems and a square cross-section that develops to be 30″90 cm (12″35 in) tall. The rhizomes are fleshy, wide-spreading, and have fibrous roots. The leaves can be 4″9 cm long (1+12″3+12 in) and 1.5″4 cm wide (12″1+12 in). They have a sharp apex and coarsely serrated edges and are dark green with reddish veins. In most cases, the leaves and stems are slightly fuzzy. Purple flowers with a four-lobed corolla approximately 5 mm (316 in) diameter bloom in whorls (verticillasters) around the stem, creating thick, blunt spikes. The flowering season lasts from the middle to the end of the summer. The number of chromosomes varies, with 2n counts of 66, 72, 84, and 120 being documented. Peppermint is a fast-growing plant that spreads swiftly after it starts.

Peppermint thrives in wet environments like stream banks and drainage ditches. Because it’s a hybrid, it’s generally sterile, producing no seeds and only reproducing vegetatively by runners. It can grow virtually anywhere if properly put.

Outside of its native range, places where peppermint was once produced for oil frequently have an abundance of feral plants, and it is considered invasive in Australia, the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, and the Great Lakes region of the United States, where it has been documented since 1843.

Peppermint thrives in damp, shady environments and spreads by subterranean rhizomes. Young shoots are dug up from old stocks and spaced 1.5 feet apart in the ground. If the ground is always moist, they develop fast and blanket the ground with runners. It is commonly planted in pots by amateur gardeners to prevent fast spread. It thrives in locations with part-sun to shade and an adequate supply of water without being waterlogged.

The blooming tops and leaves are used; they are picked as soon as the flowers open and can be dried. The plant’s wild form is less appropriate for this use since cultivated plants have been chosen for higher oil content. They can be let to wilt for a few hours before distillation, or they can be carried straight to the still.

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