Mentha piperita

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• peppermint
• black peppermint
• curly mint
• hairy peppermint
• white peppermint

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Mentha × piperita var. hircina
• Mentha glomerata var. piperita
• Mentha × piperita var. vulgaris
• Mentha × piperita var. sylvestris
• Mentha × piperita var. globosiceps
• Mentha × piperita var. langii
• Mentha × pimentum
• Mentha × maximilianea var. schultzii
• Mentha × viridis var. piperita
• Mentha × piperita var. calvifolia
• Mentha × piperita var. subhirsuta
• Mentha × piperita var. beckeri
• Mentha × piperita var. hispidula
• Mentha × piperita var. poicila
• Mentha × piperita f. rotundella
• Mentha × officinalis
• Mentha × nigricans
• Mentha × napolitana
• Mentha × langii
• Mentha × glabrata
• Mentha × hircina
• Mentha × hircina
• Mentha × hirtescens
• Mentha × hudsoniana
• Mentha × kahirina
• Mentha × schultzii
• Mentha × banatica
• Mentha × balsamea
• Mentha × crispula
• Mentha × concinna
• Mentha × exaltata
• Mentha × fraseri
• Mentha × durandoana
• Mentha aquatica f. piperita
• Mentha aquatica var. piperita
• Mentha aquatica var. langii
• Mentha × piperita var. hercynica
• Mentha × piperita var. crispula
• Mentha × piperita var. calophylla
• Mentha × piperita var. officinalis
• Mentha × piperita var. hudsoniana
• Mentha × piperita var. durandoana
• Mentha × braousiana
• Mentha × piperita var. braousiana
• Mentha × suavis var. schultzii
• Mentha × piperita var. pimentum
• Mentha hortensis var. citrata
• Mentha × heuffelii
• Mentha × hercynica
• Mentha × piperita var. balsamea
• Mentha × piperita var. piperoides
• Mentha × piperita var. ouweneelii
• Mentha × piperoides
• Mentha canescens var. schultzii
• Mentha × piperita var. pennsylvanica
• Mentha × piperita f. puberula
• Mentha × piperita var. heuffelii

Regional and Traditional Names

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta, falling under the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae. Within the order Lamiales and family Lamiaceae, it is classified under the genus Mentha. As a hybrid species, its scientific name is Mentha × piperita.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a wide distribution across several regions in Europe. In Northern Europe, it can be found growing in Denmark, Great Britain, and Ireland. Its presence extends into Middle Europe as well. Specifically, it is documented in countries such as Austria and Belgium. This variety of locations highlights its adaptability to different European climates.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Ecology

The ecology of Mentha × piperita is characterized by its ability to thrive in moist, nutrient-rich environments, often found in disturbed soils and riparian zones where water is readily available. While it naturally occurs in various wetland-adjacent ecosystems, it is frequently cultivated within a garden habitat, where controlled irrigation and fertile soil mimic its preferred damp conditions. This species prefers temperate climates and demonstrates a high tolerance for partial shade to full sunlight, provided the substrate remains consistently moist. As a perennial herb, it utilizes vigorous rhizomatous growth to colonize available space, allowing it to form dense, competitive mats that can dominate its immediate microhabitat.

Habitat :

garden

Life history

The life history of Mentha × piperita is characterized by its nature as a perennial plant, allowing it to persist through multiple growing seasons. It functions as a hemicryptophyte, a life form where the perennating buds are located at the soil surface, protected by leaf litter or organic matter during unfavorable conditions. This hemicryptophytic strategy enables the plant to re-emerge vigorously each year from its underground structures, ensuring long-term survival and establishment within its habitat.

Life form :

hemicryptophyte

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Mentha × piperita is characterized by its growth form as a non-woody herb, exhibiting a predominantly herbaceous structure. The plant typically grows in an erect shoot orientation, reaching a minimum height of 0.3 m and extending up to a maximum height of 1 m. As a non-woody herb, its stems and tissues lack significant lignification, maintaining a soft and flexible vegetative body throughout its growth cycle.

Growth form :

herb

Plant height max:

1 m

Plant height min:

0.3 m

Shoot orientation :

erect

Woodiness :

non-woody

Physiology

The physiology of Mentha × piperita is characterized by a C3 photosynthetic pathway, a metabolic strategy typical of most temperate herbaceous perennials where carbon fixation occurs directly through the Calvin cycle within the mesophyll cells. This process involves the initial fixation of atmospheric carbon dioxide by the enzyme RuBisCO to form 3-phosphoglycerate. The plant's physiological efficiency is heavily influenced by its transpiration rates and water use, as the C3 pathway is susceptible to photorespiration when stomatal conductance decreases under high temperature or water stress. Furthermore, its physiological makeup is defined by specialized glandular trichomes located on the leaf epidermis, which serve as the primary sites for the biosynthesis and storage of volatile essential oils, such as menthol and menthone. These secondary metabolites are integrated into the plant's physiological defense mechanisms, acting as deterrents against herbivory and environmental stressors. The metabolic regulation of these terpenoids is closely linked to the plant's overall carbon assimilation and energy balance, ensuring that secondary metabolism is balanced with primary growth processes.

Photosynthetic pathway :

C3

Reproduction

The reproduction of Mentha × piperita is characterized by a specific seasonal flowering window and highly uniform seed characteristics. The flowering period typically begins in July and extends through September, though the timing can be variable depending on environmental conditions. During this reproductive phase, the plant produces seeds that exhibit remarkable consistency in weight; the mean seed mass, as well as both the minimum and maximum recorded values, are constant at 9e-05 g. This uniformity in seed mass suggests a highly stabilized reproductive output for this hybrid species.

Flowering time :

Jul

Flowering time :

Sep

Seed mass mean:

9e-05 g

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Mentha × piperita has 2 reported plant parts identified across 2 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include flower, leaf.

Flower

1. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Leaf

1. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Chemicals

Mentha × piperita has 59 reported phytochemicals identified across 2 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include MENTHOL, MENTHONE, PEPPERMINT OIL, rosmarinic acid, CD.

MENTHOL

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Current microbiology
3. Journal of chromatography. A
4. Mini reviews in medicinal chemistry
5. Therapeutics and clinical risk management

MENTHONE

1. Current microbiology
2. Food chemistry
3. Therapeutics and clinical risk management
4. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
5. PloS one

PEPPERMINT OIL

1. HNO
2. Phytotherapy research : PTR
3. Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache
4. Neurogastroenterology and motility
5. Fitoterapia

rosmarinic acid

1. Forschende Komplementarmedizin (2006)
2. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
4. 3 Biotech

CD

1. Nutrients
2. Toxics

Hg

1. Nutrients
2. Biological trace element research

LIMONENE

1. 3 Biotech
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Menthofuran

1. Current microbiology
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Monoterpenes

1. Physiologia plantarum
2. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

NI

1. Nutrients
2. Biological trace element research

Activities

Mentha × piperita has 13 reported activities identified across 2 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, Antibacterial, Antidepressant, Antifungal.

Antioxidant

1. Advances in clinical and experimental medicine : official organ Wroclaw Medical University
2. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Food chemistry
4. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
5. Journal of the science of food and agriculture

Antimicrobial

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Fitoterapia

Antibacterial

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Antidepressant

1. Advances in gerontology = Uspekhi gerontologii

Antifungal

1. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Antigenotoxic

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Antispasmodic

1. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology

Antitumor

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Anxiolytic

1. Advances in gerontology = Uspekhi gerontologii

Choleretic

1. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology

Conditions

Mentha × piperita has 41 reported investigations on conditions identified across 2 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported conditions include Irritable Bowel Syndrome, headache, irritable bowel syndrome, Aspergillus niger, Bacillus cereus.

Irritable bowel syndrome

1. Nutrients
2. International journal of molecular sciences

Headache

1. Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache
2. International journal of preventive medicine

Irritable bowel syndrome

1. Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association
2. Current gastroenterology reports

Aspergillus niger

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Bacillus cereus

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Candidiasis

1. Frontiers in bioscience (Landmark edition)

Escherichia coli

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Helicobacter pylori

1. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Salmonella enterica

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Staphylococcus aureus

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Preparations

Mentha × piperita has 12 reported preparations identified across 2 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported preparations include essential oils, extracts, Aqueous extracts, EOs, aqueous extract.

Essential oils

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Extracts

1. Frontiers in bioscience (Elite edition)
2. Arzneimittel-Forschung

Aqueous extracts

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Eos

1. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Aqueous extract

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Aqueous solutions of ethanolic tinctures

1. Biology

Ethanolic extract

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Ethanolic extracts

1. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Hydrosols

1. BMC plant biology

Mentha essential oil

1. International journal of biological macromolecules