Mentha spicata (spearmint, "Midorihakka")

Japanese name: ミドリハッカ （緑薄荷）
Scientific name: Mentha spicata

[Overview]
A perennial 30–100 cm tall.
It is widely found in Europe, but is presumed to be a species of hybrid origin (M. longifolia × M. suaveolens) with apple mint as one parent.
It is hairless or hairy, and the whole plant usually has a strong, sweet fragrance.
Leaves are simple and opposite, lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate, 5–9 cm long and 1.5–3 cm wide.
The leaf margins are serrate.
There are no leaf stalks.
The underside of the leaf is often hairy.
Spike-like verticillasters are produced at the stem tips.
The flowers are two-lipped and 4-lobed, and vary in color, including wisteria, pink and white.

[Uses]
It is often cultivated as a herb and used for herbal tea, potpourri, flavoring cooking, bath additives and so on.
The essential oil extracted from the leaves is used as a fragrance and for medicinal purposes.
It is also famous as the flavor of chewing gum and toothpaste.

[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.

[Notes]
The English name comes from the leaf shape, which resembles a spearhead (spear).

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