Higher Taxonomy
Common Name: MINT FAMILY Habit: Annual to shrub [tree, vine], glabrous to hairy, generally aromatic. Stem: generally erect, generally 4-angled. Leaf: generally simple to deeply lobed, generally opposite, generally gland-dotted. Inflorescence: generally cymes, generally many in dense axillary clusters surrounding stem, generally separated by evident internodes or collectively crowded, spike- or panicle-like, occasionally head-like or raceme, subtended by leaves or bracts; flowers sessile or pedicelled. Flower: generally bisexual; calyx generally 5-lobed, radial to bilateral; corolla generally bilateral, 1--2-lipped, upper lip entire or 2-lobed, +- flat to hood-like, occasionally 0, lower lip generally 3-lobed; stamens generally 4, epipetalous, generally exserted, paired, pairs generally unequal, occasionally 2, staminodes 2 or 0; ovary superior, generally 4-lobed to base chambers 2, ovules 2 per chamber, style 1, generally arising from center at junction of lobes, stigmas generally 2. Fruit: generally 4 nutlets, generally ovoid to oblong, smooth. Genera In Family: +- 230 genera, 7200 species: worldwide. Many cultivated for herbs, oils (Lavandula, lavender; Mentha, mint; Rosmarinus, rosemary; Thymus, thyme), some cultivated as ornamental (in California Cedronella, Leonotis, Monarda, Phlomis). Note: Moluccella laevis L., shell flower, historical waif in California. Satureja calamintha (L.) Scheele subsp. ascendens (Jordan) Briq. reported as alien but not naturalized. Salazaria moved to Scutellaria; California Hyptis moved to Condea, California Satureja moved to Clinopodium. eFlora Treatment Author: Dieter H. Wilken & Margriet Wetherwax, family description, key to genera, except as noted Scientific Editor: Douglas H. Goldman, Bruce G. Baldwin.
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Mentha
Habit: Perennial herb from rhizomes, glabrous to hairy. Stem: generally ascending to erect, generally branched. Leaf: petioled to sessile; blade elliptic to ovate or lanceolate, toothed to lobed. Inflorescence: head-like in leaf axils or collectively spike- or panicle-like and subtended by bracts. Flower: calyx +- radial, generally 10-veined, lobes 4--5, equal or not; corolla +- 2-lipped, lips generally equal, upper lip notched, lower lip 3-lobed; stamens 4, +- equal, generally exserted, filaments glabrous, anthers segments parallel, distinct. Fruit: nutlets +- ellipsoid, tip rounded. Species In Genus: 18 species: temperate. North America, Eurasia. Etymology: (Latin: ancient name for mint) Note: Cultivated for oils, flavoring, herbs. Hybrids in California generally sterile, spreading from rhizomes. Unabridged Note: Many cultivated and naturalized populations derived from hybridization, generally polyploid, some sterile, reproducing vegetatively.Jepson eFlora Author: Arthur O. Tucker Reference: Tucker et al. 1980 Taxon 29:233--255 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)Key to Mentha
Previous taxon: Melissa officinalisNext taxon: Mentha aquatica
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Citation for this treatment: Arthur O. Tucker 2012, Mentha, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=9461, accessed on April 23, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 23, 2024.
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