Japanese name: メグサハッカ（目草薄荷） Scientific name:Mentha pulegium
[Overview]
A perennial 10–40 cm tall.
It is hairless or hairy, and the whole plant has a strong fragrance.
The stem is square in cross section.
Leaves are simple and opposite, narrowly elliptic, 0.8–3 cm long and 0.4–1.2 cm wide, with hairs on the underside.
The leaf margins are entire or have a few teeth.
Spike-like verticillasters are produced at the stem tips.
The flowers are two-lipped and 4-lobed, wisteria-colored.
[Uses]
It is cultivated as a herb and used medicinally and as an insect repellent.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by division or stem cuttings.
It prefers slightly moist, well-drained soil in sun to bright shade.
It is hardy and spreads by underground stems, so when planting in a garden, it is better to make a barrier underground to keep it from spreading too much.
For potted plants, water when the soil surface dries.
Fertilizer is not particularly necessary, and too much weakens the fragrance.
It is strongly drought tolerant and also tolerates heat and humidity, but if the branches become crowded, they become stuffy and disease may occur.
