Mentha aquatica L., 1753
Common names
- 🇬🇧 Water Mint
- 🇫🇷 Menthe aquatique, Baume d’eau, Baume de rivière, Bonhomme de rivière, Menthe rouge, Riolet, Menthe à grenouilles
Taxonomy
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Clade: Tracheophytes
- Clade: Angiosperms
- Clade: Eudicots
- Clade: Superasterids
- Clade: Asterids
- Clade: Lamiids
- Order: Lamiales
- Family: Lamiaceae
- Subfamily: Nepetoideae
- Tribe: Mentheae
- Subtribe: Menthinae
- Genus: Mentha
- Species: Mentha aquatica
Presence
Present.
Conservation status
- Red List (Metropolitan France): LC Least Concern
- Red List (Global): LC Least Concern
Notes
The following infraspecific taxa are accepted:
- M. aquatica subsp. aquatica L., 1753: octaploid (2n = 96), P;
- M. aquatica subsp. litoralis Hartm., 1846.
The variety M. aquatica var. citrata (Ehrh.) Fresen., 1828 is sometimes used to designate individuals containing high concentration of linalool and linalyl acetate (Lawrence, 2006). Such plants are marketed under the name ‘Orange Mint’ or ‘Bergamot Mint’.
Hybridizes with:
- M. arvensis L., 1753 to produce M. × verticillata L., 1759, P;
- M. arvensis L., 1753 and M. spicata L., 1753 to produce M. × smithiana R.A.Graham, 1949, M;
- M. longifolia (L.) L., 1759 to produce M. × dumetorum Schult., 1809, M;
- M. spicata L., 1753 to produce M. × piperita L., 1753, M;
- M. suaveolens Ehrh., 1792 to produce M. × maximilianea F.W.Schultz, 1854, P (het. syn. M. × suavis Guss., 1826).
Photographs
Sources
de Belair, G., & Lansdown, R.V. (2014). Mentha aquatica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2014. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-2.RLTS.T164509A63304147.en
Lawrence, B.M. (2006). Mint: the Genus Mentha (p. 16). CRC Press.
Tison, J.M., & de Foucault, B. (2014). Flora Gallica : Flore de France (p. 802). Biotope.