PENNYROYAL

Mentha pulegium

Mint / Dead-Nettle Family [Lamiaceae]

month8aug month8sep month8sept month8oct

status
statusZnative
 
flower
flower8mauve
 
morph
morph8zygo
 
petals
petalsZ4
 
type
typeZtieredwhorls
 
stem
stem8square
 
smell
smell8spearmint
spearmint
toxicity
toxicityZmedium
 
rarity
rarityZuncommon
 

19th Aug 2011, Ninham Verge, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
Spreading out.


19th Aug 2011, Ninham Verge, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
It is supposed to reach heights of just 30cm, but this specimen might be twice that height. It can be either upright(ish) or sprawling. This specimen obliges by showing both stances.


Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
Likes to be beside the water, or near the sea.


19th Aug 2011, lake margin, California Park, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
Has dense whorls of mauve-coloured flowers.


19th Aug 2011, lake margin, California Park, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The multitude of whorls on one stem are well spaced. Opposite pairs of leaves alternately at quadrature on the hairy square stem.


19th Aug 2011, lake margin, California Park, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The leaves are oval shaped and without teeth (entire).


19th Aug 2011, lake margin, California Park, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The whorls are globular rather than toroidal. As-yet unopened flowers on the left whilst those on the right might just have gone to seed (?). The calyx has hairs in its throat. The sepal tube is markedly ribbed (best seen on those sepal tubes at top right of the mauve flowered whorl)


19th Aug 2011, lake margin, California Park, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
When opened flowers are zygomorphic, with 4 petals; the topmost longest, the two side lobes shortest, and the bottom one of medium length.


19th Aug 2011, Ninham Verge, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
With 5 stamens.


19th Aug 2011, Ninham Verge, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


Not to be semantically confused with : the Hydrocotyle Pennyworts such as Floating Pennywort (Hydrocotyle ranunculoides), nor with Penny-cresses such as Field Penny-Cress (Thlaspi arvense) or Wall Pennywort (aka Navelwort Umbilicus rupestris) [plants with similar names belonging to differing families].

Some similarities to : Corn Mint (Mentha arvensisn) but the sepal tube is markedly ribbed on Pennyroyal with hairs within the throat and the three upper sepal teeth being shorter and wider than the lower two.

The aroma is the strongest in the Mentha family, often to be judged repugnant by many, including insects - it can be used as a flea repellent. The taste too is often repellent. It has in the past been used as an abortifacient, and two women have been known to be killed by taking it. The oil is said to be toxic in 'large' amounts (whatever 'large' may mean...)! Contact of the skin with the oil can also cause dermatitis.

An accidental exposure of the oil to a dogs skin at 2g/kg weight led to the dog becoming listless and vomiting in the first 2 hours, and within 30 hours exhibiting diarrhoea, haemoptysis (coughing up blood) and epistaxis (nose-bleed), developing seizures and dying. The toxin is thought to be Pulegone which is metabolised in the body to Menthofuran which in turn is transformed by CYP enzymes to a compound which is hepatotoxic (toxic to the liver).

MONOTERPENOIDS

Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) contains the tocic monoterpenoid Pulgenone, which derives its name from the botanical name of Pennyroyal. (Pulgenone should not be confused with Pulegone which is found in some other Mint genus plants).
Pulgenone is used as a flavouring agent, its mild toxicity being of no concern at the low concentrations required, being less than 1/10,000th of the toxic dose. In the body it is metabolized to Menthofuran, shown below, which is 10 times as toxic as Pulgenone, but still of no safety concern. Pulgenone occurs in greater concentration in Pennyroyal, and has been implicated in human Pennyroyal poisoning in those un-able to metabolize Pulgenone into Menthofuran. The only difference between Pulgenone and Menthol below is the C=C double bond in Pulegenone which is a single bond in Menthone.

The main constituents of the essential oil of Pennyroyal are Menthone (at 31%). Others include Pulegone (14%), NeoMenthol (14%) (although the percentages vary wildly from the various sources to be found on the internet), and Caryophyllene Oxide, according to one source. Other volatile compounds are Piperitenone, Piperitone, Menthol, Pulegone Acetate, Caryophyllene, γ-Terpinene and another 35 or so unspecified but more minor constituents.

NeoMenthol is the simplest of these three, an alcohol. It has a mentholic type odour and flavour and is found in many foods, such as Broccoli, Sweet Orange, Yellow Bell Pepper, etc. Speaking personally, your Author has never detected any menthol-type aroma emanating from brocolli, either when cooking or upon eating. It is used as both a flavouring and as a fragrance.

Piperitone is a ketone and is found in nature in both its' possible stereoisometric forms: D- and L- forms. D-Piperitone has a peppermint aroma and is the form found in some plants of the Mentha genus. L-Piperitone, on the other hand, is found in Sitka Spruce and the Eucalyptus dives tree but probably smells dissimilar.

Piperitenone is found in the citrus fruits such as Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange and also in Spearmint and Peppermint. It is used as a flavouring agent. It is a p-Menthane monoterpenoid (as are the others).



  Mentha pulegium  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Lamiaceae  

Distribution
 family8Mint / Dead-Nettle family8Lamiaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Mentha
Mentha
(Mints)

PENNYROYAL

Mentha pulegium

Mint / Dead-Nettle Family [Lamiaceae]