- Family:
- Lamiaceae Martinov
- Genus:
- Mentha L.
Mentha suaveolens Ehrh.
A member of the mint family (Lamiaceae), apple mint is an aromatic herb with a fruity, spearmint flavour. Also known by the common name round-leaved mint, Mentha suaveolens is often misnamed M. rotundifolia in cultivation. Apple mint is cultivated as a culinary herb and is used in the production of mint sauce and jelly.

[UNAL]
Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/
- Vernacular
- yerbabuena
[CPLC]
Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co
- Distribution
- Naturalizada y adventicia en Colombia; Alt. 2000 - 3900 m.; Andes.
- Morphology General Habit
- Hierba
- Conservation
- Preocupación Menor
[UPFC]
- Distribution
- Biogeografic region: Andean. Elevation range: 2000–3900 m a.s.l. Naturalised in Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Bogotá DC, Boyacá, Caldas, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Nariño, Quindío, Santander.
- Habit
- Herb.
- Conservation
- IUCN Red List Assessment (2021): LC.
- Ecology
- Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, artificial - terrestrial.
[KSP]
Kew Species Profiles
- General Description
-
A vigorous, aromatic perennial native to southern and western Europe, apple mint is grown as a culinary herb and ornamental.
A member of the mint family (Lamiaceae), apple mint is an aromatic herb with a fruity, spearmint flavour. Also known by the common name round-leaved mint, Mentha suaveolens is often misnamed M. rotundifolia in cultivation. Apple mint is cultivated as a culinary herb and is used in the production of mint sauce and jelly.
- Species Profile
-
Geography and distribution
Apple mint is native to southern and western Europe and is also naturalised in northern and central Europe.
DescriptionOverview: A creeping, aromatic (apple-scented), perennial herb growing 40-100 cm tall. The stems are sparsely to densely hairy.
Leaves: The hairy, wrinkly leaves are 3.0-4.5 × 2.0-4.0 cm with toothed margins.
Flowers: Pink to white flowers are produced in dense terminal spikes (each consisting of many false whorls), 4-9 cm long.
Uses:Apple mint leaves are used to make mint sauce and jelly, which are commonly served alongside lamb, tzatziki and tabbouleh. Leaves can be candied and also used for flavouring in herb teas and iced drinks. Apple mint leaves are hairy, and hence considered less suitable for use as a garnish than those of Mentha spicata (spearmint).
Commonly cultivated as a pot plant and culinary herb, apple mint is an invasive plant and must be kept in check if grown in open ground. The attractive cultivar Mentha suaveolens 'Variegata' (pineapple mint) has creamy-white streaked leaves and a sweet and fruity fragrance.
Millennium Seed Bank: Seed storageThe Millennium Seed Bank Partnership aims to save plant life worldwide, focusing on plants under threat and those of most use in the future. Seeds are dried, packaged and stored at a sub-zero temperature in our seed bank vault.
Four collections of apple mint seeds are held in Kew's Millennium Seed Bank based at Wakehurst in West Sussex.
This species at KewApple mint can be seen growing in the Queen's Garden behind Kew Palace.
Pressed and dried specimens of Mentha suaveolens are held in Kew's Herbarium, where they are available to researchers by appointment. The details of some of these specimens can be seen online in Kew's Herbarium Catalogue.
- Ecology
- Damp or wet habitats.
- Conservation
- Not assessed according to IUCN Red List criteria.
- Hazards
-
None known.
[UPB]
The Useful Plants of Boyacá project
- Ecology
- Alt. 2000 - 3900 m.
- Morphology General Habit
- Herb.
- Distribution
- Introduced and naturalised in Colombia.
- Conservation
- Least concern.
[UPFC]
- Use Environmental
- Environmental uses.
- Use Gene Sources
- Used as gene sources.
- Use Food
- Used for food.
- Use Medicines
- Medical uses.
[UPB]
- Use Environmental
- Environmental uses (State of the World's Plants 2016).
- Use Gene Sources
- Crop wild relatives which may possess beneficial traits of value in breeding programmes (State of the World's Plants 2016).
- Use Food
- Food (State of the World's Plants 2016).
Native to:
Algeria, Azores, Baleares, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Corse, East Aegean Is., France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Madeira, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe
Introduced into:
Alabama, Arizona, Austria, Belarus, California, Central European Rus, Chile North, Colombia, Comoros, Connecticut, Czechoslovakia, Delaware, Denmark, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ireland, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Poland, Romania, South Carolina, Sweden, Texas, Washington, Yugoslavia
- English
- Apple mint
Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. appears in other Kew resources:
Date | Reference | Identified As | Barcode | Type Status | Has image? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 1, 2011 | Rodrigues [3789], Brazil | K000249979 | No | ||
Jan 1, 2011 | Zanin [s.n.], Brazil | K000735165 | Yes | ||
Jan 1, 2011 | Zanin [s.n.], Brazil | K000735166 | Yes | ||
Di Palma, A. [2745], Italy | K000494856 | Yes | |||
Di Palma, A. [2745], Italy | K000494857 | Yes |
First published in Beitr. Naturk. Verw. Wiss. 7: 149 (1792)
Accepted by
- Bernal, R., Gradstein, R.S. & Celis, M. (eds.) (2016). Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia 1-2: 1-3068. Libro impreso.
- Castroviejo, S. & al. (eds.) (2010). Flora Iberica 12: 1-650. Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC, Madrid.
- Dobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. (2012). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 4: 1-431. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
- Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Martínez-Gordillo, M. & al. (2019). Flora del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Lamiaceae: 1-233. Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
- Webb, C.J., Sykes, W.R & Garnock-Jones, P.J. (1988). Flora of New Zealand 4: 1-1365. R.E.Owen, Government Printer, Wellington.
Literature
Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
- Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co
Kew Species Profiles
- Bown, D. (1996). The RHS Encyclopedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley Ltd, London.
- Huxley, A., Griffiths, M. & Levy, M. (eds) (1999). The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening, Volume 3 (L to Q). Macmillan Reference, London.
- Mabberley, D. J. (2008). Mabberley’s Plant-book: a Portable Dictionary of Plants, their Classification and Uses. 3rd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
- Tutin, T. G. et al. (1972). Flora Europaea, Volume 3 (Diapensiaceae to Myoporaceae). Cambridge University Press, London.
- World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (2010). Mentha suaveolens. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Useful Plants of Boyacá Project
- GRIN National Genetic Resources Program http://www.ars-grin.gov in The State of the World’s Plants Report–2016. (2016). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew https://stateoftheworldsplants.org/2016/
Kew Backbone Distributions
- Barthelat, F. (2019). La flore illustrée de Mayotte: 1-687. Biotope éditions.
- Bernal, R., Gradstein, R.S. & Celis, M. (eds.) (2016). Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia 1-2: 1-3068. Libro impreso.
- Delipavlov, D. & Cheshmedzhiev, I. (eds.) (2011). Opredelitel na rasteniiata v Bulgariia: 1-590. Akad. Isd. Agrar. Univers. Plovdiv.
- Martínez-Gordillo, M. & al. (2019). Flora del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Lamiaceae: 1-233. Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
- Webb, C.J., Sykes, W.R & Garnock-Jones, P.J. (1988). Flora of New Zealand 4: 1-1365. R.E.Owen, Government Printer, Wellington.
Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia
- Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R., & Celis, M. (eds.). (2020). Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia. v1.1. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Dataset/Checklist. https://doi.org/10.15472/7avdhn
- Diazgranados et al. (2021). Catalogue of plants of Colombia. Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia project. In prep.
- Diazgranados, M., Allkin, B., Black N., Cámara-Leret, R., Canteiro C., Carretero J., Eastwood R., Hargreaves S., Hudson A., Milliken W., Nesbitt, M., Ondo, I., Patmore, K., Pironon, S., Turner, R., Ulian, T. (2020). World Checklist of Useful Plant Species. Produced by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity.
- FPI (2021). Food Plants International. https://fms.cmsvr.com/fmi/webd/Food_Plants_World?homeurl=https://foodplantsinternational.com/plants/
- GBIF.org (2021). GBIF species matching tool. https://www.gbif.org/tools/species-lookup
- GRIN (2021). Germplasm Resources Information Network from the United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.ars-grin.gov/
- IUCN (2021). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2. https://www.iucnredlist.org.
- Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) v.10 (2021); http://mpns.kew.org/
- Willis, K.J. (ed.) (2017). State of the World’s Plants 2017. Report. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
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Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible
ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
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Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
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Kew Species Profiles
Kew Species Profiles
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
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Universidad Nacional de Colombia
ColPlantA database
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
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Useful Plants of Boyacá Project
ColPlantA database
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0