Family: Mint / Dead-Nettle [Labiatea / Lamiaceae]

Agastache

Ajuga

Ballota

Betonica

Caryopteris

Cedronella

Clinopodium

Coleus

Dracocephalum

Galeopsis

Glechoma

Hyssopus

Lamiastrum

Lamium

Lavandula

Leonurus

Lycopus

Marrubium

Melissa

Melittis

Mentha

Monarda

Nepeta

Origanum

Phlomis

Physostegia

Prunella

Rosmarinus

Salvia

Satureja

Scutellaria

Sideritis

Stachys

Teucrium

Thymus

Ziziphora

This is, along with the Daisy Family, another large family. The family includes a lot of members used as herbs, such as the Mints. Smells feature strongly in the Dead-Nettle Family, ranging from sweet, pleasant, quite nice to positively disgusting.

The family includes the following sub-groups: Dead-Nettles (Lamium), Hemp-Nettles (Galeopsis), Woundworts (Stachys), Calamints (Clinopodium), Thymes (Thymus), Horehounds, Claries (Salvia), Skullcaps (Scutellaria), Bugles (Ajuga), Germanders (Teucrium) and Mints (Mentha), along with several others that seem to have a category all by themselves like, for instance, Ground-Ivy (Glechoma).

Of the herbs, Marjoram, Wild Basil, Wild Thyme, Balm, Wood Sage, Apple Mint, Spearmint and Peppermint feature strongly.



[TEUCRIUM] Germanders

Wood Sage. (Teucrium scorodonia) Photo: © RWD



[BETONICA] Betony

Betony. (Betonica officinalis) Photo: © RWD



[STACHYS] Woundworts

Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica) Photo: © RWD

Field Woundwort (Stachys arvensis) Photo: © RWD

Marsh Woundwort. (Stachys palustris) Photo: © RWD

Downy Woundwort (Stachys germanica) Photo: © Chris Hughes

Lamb's-Ear (Stachys byzantina) Photo: © RWD



[BALLOTA] Black-Horehounds

Black Horehound. (Balota nigra) Photo: © RWD



[MARRUBIUM] White Horehound

White Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone



[LAMIUM] Dead-nettles

Henbit Dead-Nettle. (Lamium amplexicaule) Photo: © RWD

White Dead-Nettle. (Lamium album) Photo: © RWD

Spotted Dead-Nettle (Lamium maculatum) Photo: © RWD

Red Dead-Nettle. (Lamium purpureum) Photo: © RWD

Cut-Leaved Dead-Nettle (Lamium hybridum) Photo: © RWD



[LAMIASTRUM] Yellow Archangel

Variegated Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) Photo: © RWD



[GALEOPSIS] Hemp-nettles

Large-Flowered Hemp-Nettle (Galeopsis speciosa) Photo: © RWD

Common Hemp-Nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit) Photo: © RWD

Bifid Hemp-Nettle (Galeopsis bifida) Photo: © RWD

Red Hemp-Nettle (Galeopsis angustifolia) Photo: © Dawn Nelson



[MENTHA] Mints

Most mints have a characteristic smell of some specific terpene, which is present in the leaves and flowers of the plants, and released when crushed between the fingers.

Menthol is obtained from Corn Mint and is the main active ingredient of oil of peppermint whereas Carvone is the main odorous component of oil of spearmint present in Spear Mint.

 

[Mentha]
MINT HYBRID CHART
[Mentha]
MINT
HYBRIDS
BSBI MAPS
Water
Mint

(aquatica)
Corn
Mint

(arvensis)
Horse
Mint

(longifolia)
Spear
Mint

(spicata)
Round
Leaved
Mint

(suaveolens)
Round
Leaved
Mint

(suaveolens)
Mentha
×
suavis
Mentha
×
carinthiaca
False
Apple
Mint
Apple
Mint
Spear
Mint

(spicata)
Pepper
mint
Bushy
Mint
Sharp
Toothed
Mint
Apple
Mint
Horse
Mint

(longifolia)
    Sharp
Toothed
Mint
False
Apple
Mint
Corn
Mint

(arvensis)
Whorled
Mint
  Bushy
Mint
Mentha
×
carinthiaca
Water
Mint

(aquatica)
Whorled
Mint
  Pepper
mint
Mentha
×
suavis

Most of the Mints hybridize freely with one another. The above is a chart of all the known hybrids of the Mints with other Mints. A triple hybrid between Corn Mint, Water Mint and Spear Mint, called Tall Mint (M. aquatica × arvensis × spicata) would require a third dimension in order to show it on a cube-chart, so it is missing from this chequerboard chart. Unlike the Willowherb Hybrid Chart where there are no common names for the hybrids, here most of the hybrids of the mints have a common name.

There are no known hybrids of Pennyroyal nor of Corsica Mint.

The empty dark-brown squares show that there is plenty of opportunity for much more promiscuity between mints.

N.B. Due to the symmetrical nature of the chart, each hybrid appears twice.

Mentha SPECIES LACKING HYBRIDS
(Mentha pulegium) Pennyroyal
(Mentha requienii) Corsican Mint

Apple Mint. (Mentha × villosa) Photo: © RWD

Corn Mint. (Mentha arvensis) Photo: © RWD

Whorled Mint (Mentha x verticillata) Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone

Water Mint. (Mentha aquatica) Photo: © RWD

Spear Mint. (Mentha spicata) Photo: © RWD

Sharp-Toothed Mint (Mentha x villosonervata) Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita) Photo: © RWD

Tall Mint (Mentha × vismithiana) Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone

Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone

Round-leaved Mint (Mentha suaveolens) Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


[THYMUS] Thymes

Wild Thyme. (Thymus polytrichus) Photo: © RWD



[ORIGANUM] Wild Marjorum

Marjoram. (Origanum vulgare) Photo: © RWD



[PRUNELLA] Self-heals

Selfheal. (Prunella vulgaris) Photo: © RWD



[SCUTELLARIA] Skullcaps

Skullcap. (Scutellaria galericulata) Photo: © RWD

Lesser Skullcap (Scutellaria minor) Photo: © RWD



[AJUGA] Bugles

Bugle. (Ajuga reptans) Photo: © RWD

Pyramidal Bugle. (Ajuga pyramidalis) Photo: © Jeremy Roberts

Ground Pine (Ajuga chamaepitys) Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone



[GLECHOMA] Ground-Ivy

Ground-Ivy (Glechoma hederacea) Photo: © RWD



[LYCOPUS] Gipsywort

Gipsywort. (Lycopus eurapaeus) Photo: © RWD



[LEONURUS] Motherwort

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) Photo: © Jules de Bharra



[PHLOMIS] Sages

Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis fruticosa) Photo: © RWD

Turkish Sage (Phlomis russeliana) Photo: © RWD



[CLINOPODIUM] Calamints

Wild Basil (Clinopodium vulgare) Photo: © RWD

Common Calamint (Clinopodium ascendens) Photo: © RWD

Wood Calamint (Clinopodium menthifolium) Photo: © Dawn Nelson



[SALVIA] Claries

Wild Clary (Salvia verbenaca) Photo: © RWD

Balkan Clary (Salvia nemorosa) Photo: © John Sampson

Sage (Salvia officinalis) Photo: © RWD



[MELISSA] Balm

Balm (Melissa officinalis) Photo: © RWD



[MELITTIS] Bastard Balm

Bastard Balm (Melittis melissophyllum) Photo: © Alison Tickner



[Rosmarinus] Rosemary

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Photo: © RWD



[NEPETA] Cat-Mints

Garden Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii) Photo: © Bastiaan Brak

Family: Mint / Dead-Nettle [Labiatea / Lamiaceae]

WildFlowerFinder Homepage