Mentha longifolia
European Horsemint
Family Lamiaceae
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Use
Tea, flavoring. Steep leaves in hot water for 5-10min, or use for flavoring in jellies, sauces, drinks, dressings. Leaves can be used dry or fresh.
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Description
Growth Form: Low herbaceous plant.
Leaves: Paired, ovate. Edges are saw-toothed. Wooly and whitish beneath.
Flowers: Tiny, pale purple, in interrupted clusters on terminal spikes. Flowers July-September
Stem: Square, downy-hairy.
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Leaves
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Flower spikes
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Habitat and Range
Roadsides, often occurs in thickets, from Indiana east to Massachusetts south to Virginia and Missouri.
Season
Should be harvested in the summer.
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Fun Facts
European horsemint is in the same family as sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, basil, and catnip.
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Close up of one flower spike
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