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Peppermint, Mentha X
piperita Low plant, 1 to 3 feet tall. Leaves opposite each other, egg-shaped, toothed, with strongly marked veins and a strong peppermint odor. Larger leaves with distinct stalks. Flowers very small, pale pink or purple, in rounded heads at the top of the stalk. Individual flowers have 4 flaring lobes, the upper lobe larger. Stems square in cross-section. Blooms in summer. Introduced exotic plant of wet places, frequently cultivated. In Wildwood, occasional in wet spots, especially in the wetland just within the Main Street entrance. Square stems, opposite, strongly smelling leaves, and flowers in a terminal spike are characteristic of mints (Genus Mentha). Spearmint (M. spicata) is similar, but has a longer, narrow flower head that is interrupted, and the leaves are stalkless or nearly so.
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