Name: Mint

Scientific name: Mentha

Family: Lamiaceae

Flowering period: July - September

Description :

 

Mint is a perennial aromatic plant with creeping growth that does not exceed 60 cm in height. Its stem has a square shape and brown color, while its leaves are lance-shaped with a dark green color. Its flowers appear in summer and are white or lilac in color. It grows in most types of climate and soil, but prefers temperate regions with cool summers and not too severe winters.

Due to its rhizomes, its propagation is very easy underground, covering very quickly a large soil surface. There are about 26 species of mint, one of which is spearmint.

 

Usage & History:

 

Mint has been used since ancient times as a flavoring in cooking, winemaking and pharmacy. Its essential oil is used in perfumery and soap making products. 

The name mint comes from the Latin mentha, which in turn comes from the ancient Greek minthi. It is also known as stench. According to mythology, Minthi was a nymph of the underworld, whom Hades fell in love with. When Persephone, out of her jealousy, trampled her, he transformed Mint into a plant, since then dedicated to the god of darkness. 

Hippocrates and Galen used it as a medicine against colds and several other diseases and disorders. Its valuable properties were also appreciated by the peoples of the East. The Arabs consumed it as a drink. Shehrazat consumed mint tea every day before dawn, so that she could continue the stories told to the Sultan of One Thousand and One Nights, the stories that kept her alive.