Common (vernacular) names applied to California vascular plants
compiled by Elizabeth Painter
up to date as of May 1, 2016
Common names (also referred to as vernacular names) are applied differently at different times and places by different users. This list is compiled from many sources and is intended to be as comprehensive as possible. It is not intended to indicate which common name is correct or preferred. Please send comments about this page to Elizabeth Painter (beth.painter.48@gmail.com).
| Taxon | Mentha spicata |
| group | Eudicots |
| Family | Lamiaceae |
| Family common name(s) | mint; mints; peppermint; dead-nettle; dead nettle; deadnettle; lavender; labiatae |
| Genus common name(s) | mentha; mint; menthe; minthe |
| Species common name(s) | spearmint; spear-mint; spear mint; common spearmint; true spearmint; garden spearmint; European spearmint; German spearmint; German garden mint; common garden mint; spire mint; spiremint; spere mynt; mackerel mint; mackerel-mint; pea mint; true pea mint; green pea mint; brown mint; European horse-mint; European horse mint; European horsemint; sage-of-Bethlehem; sage of Bethlehem |
| | | | | Common name(s) generally applied to other taxa or multiple taxa | water horse mint, hairy horse-mint, hairy horsemint, common mint, lamb mint, lamb's-mint, lamb's mint, lammint, brook mint, brook-mint, garden mint, fish mint, fish-mint, green mint, Our Lady's mint, after-dinner-mint, after dinner mint, silver mint are applied to multiple Mentha taxa; water-mint, water mint, watermint are more commonly applied to Mentha aquatica; horse-mint, horse mint, horsemint, bush mint are applied to multiple Lamiaceae taxa; yerba buena, herba Santa Maria are applied to taxa in multiple families |
| | | Notes | European, German are proper names, so upper case preferable |
| Synonymy: The Jepson Manual (1993), FNA, PLANTS, etc | var. spicata; Mentha viridis L. |
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