Spearmint and Mentha piperita – both penis of the botanic genus Mentha in the mint family , Lamiaceae – grow in fecund , dampish grease in sunny exposures . Their lilliputian flowers draw in bee , and the plant stems and leave-taking dry out well , so they can be stored and rehydrated for habit in beverage teas or in variety . Both Mentha spicata and peppermint are grown outdoors in herbaceous plant and vegetable gardens in USDA wintertime hardiness zones 3 through 7 .

Origins

Spearmint ( Mentha spicata ) is a naturally occurring species of tidy sum aboriginal to western and southerly Europe , include all around the Mediterranean Basin . Peppermint is also native to Europe but is the result of a genetic crossbreeding between the Mentha spicata and the watermint ( Mentha aquatica ) . Peppermint ’s botanical name is Mentha x piperita .

Plant Size

In the garden , spearmint can be knotty . It grows up to 3 feet tall but will pass around indefinitely , sprawling andchokin - art.html'>chokingout nearby flora . Peppermint , on the whole , is much more well - behaved . It grows anywhere from 1 to 3 feet tall but spreads into a clump typically no larger than 3 foot in width , allot to the American Horticultural Society ’s " A - ezed Encyclopedia of Garden Plants . "

Ornamental Features

When compared side - by - side , spearmint leaves are slightly smaller than those of a peppermint . Also , peppermint gum leaves often have a slight tinge of purple over a thick park , while Mentha spicata foliage is an evenly brighter green . In summer , both mints bring forth unsloped spikes of tiny tubular flowers . Spearmint ’s blossoms , in dense cylinderlike spikes with branch volute , look like lance . Spearmint blossoms range in colour from wan blue to lilac or white . heyday of the peppermint are lilac - pinkish and occur in radical - tip cluster that are rather blunt and short in comparison to those of a spearmint .

Flavoring

Spearmint leaves have a lighter , sweeter sapidity that is much more palatable when reinvigorated leaf are chewed , according to " Sunset Western Garden Book . " By contrast , red gum parting ' flavor is very inviolable and should be " dried first and used sparingly . " A word form of peppermint ( Mentha x piperita f. citrata ) is have it away as the maize mint or orange mint , because the leaves emit a fragrance evocative of citrus or Koln , bet on your nose ’s acuteness .

Uses

Spearmint traditionally has been used to flavor intellectual nourishment , jelly , cold drinks and toothpaste . The milder taste of the invigorated leaves find it used much more pronto in fresh salad or in mint juleps or mojito beverages . Peppermint is also used in season food as well as in mixture because of its more intense aroma . Dried Eucalyptus amygdalina leaves tang red-hot water system to make tea much more full than Mentha spicata in ecumenical . Both mints are fabricate and sell in oil mannequin .

References

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