SPEARMINT
Mentha spicata L. Pharmdcopoeial name.- Menthas viridis. Synonym.-Mentha viridis L. Other common names.- Mint, brown mint, garden mint, lamb mint, mackerel mint, Our Lady's mint, sage of Bethlehem.
Habitat and range.-Like peppermint, the spearmint has also been naturalized from Europe and may be found in moist fields and waste places from Nova Scotia to Utah and south to Florida. It is also cultivated to some extent for the distillation of the oil and is a familiar plant in gardens for domestic use.
Description.-Spearmint very much resembles peppermint. It does not grow perhaps quite so tall, the lance-shaped leaves are generally stemless or at least with very short stems, and the flowering spikes are narrow and pointed instead of thick and blunt.
The flowering period is the same as for peppermint-from July to September.
The dried leaves and flowering tops are official in the United States Pharmacopoeia and should be collected before the flowers are fully developed.
Spearmint is used for similar purposes as peppermint, although its action is milder. The odor and taste closely resemble those of peppermint, but a difference may be detected, the flavor of spearmint being by some regarded as more agreeable.
Oil of spearmint is also official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. It is obtained from the fresh or partially dried leaves and flowering tops.
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SPEARMINT
Lap dancers are visiting Downing Street today in a bid to block plans to class them as part of the sex industry. Two workers from the club chain, Spearmint Rhino, are representing several companies as they take a petition to Number 10 to protest at ...
Read moreLap dancers mount Downing Street protest - Guardian Unlimited
Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson will get stock awards worth almost $13.6 million beginning next year for closing the carrier's buyout of Northwest Airlines, according to new filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Employees of Delta ...
Read moreMetro/State briefs - Detroit News
The country's oldest mint farm was peppered with profits Saturday, but not enough to stop it from closing. Peppermint Jim Crosby, 42, said there are 59,000 bottles of farm-distilled peppermint and spearmint oil left to sell. However, he hopes the ...
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