Phil Bendle Collection:Mentha spicata (Mint)

Kingdom:   Plantae
(Unranked):        Angiosperms
(Unranked):        Eudicots
(Unranked):        Asterids
Order:       Lamiales
Family:      Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Nepetoideae
Tribe:        Mentheae
Genus:      Mentha
Species:     M. spicata
Binomial name: Mentha spicata
Common names: Mint, Spearmint

It is a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial plant growing 30–100 cm tall, with variably hairless to hairy stems and foliage, and a wide-spreading fleshy underground rhizome. The stalkless leaves are 5–9 cm long and 1.5–3 cm broad, with a serrated margin. The stem is square-shaped, a trademark of the mint family of herbs. Mentha spicata produces flowers in slender terminal spikes, each flower pink or white, 2.5–3 mm long and broad.
It grows in wet soils. It is native to Europe and southwest Asia but has become naturalized in other parts of the world. It is naturalized in New Zealand and is a garden escapee which has become an invasive species.

[1]

[http://ketenewplymouth.peoplesnetworknz.info/image_files/0000/0007/0179/Mentha_spicata.JPG
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The stalkless leaves.
[2] 

Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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