gmp
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identifying peppermint

could anyone please tell me how I can identify peppermint plant. Thanks.

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rainbowgardener
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If you mean identifying a plant as some kind of mint, it is easy. The mints all have sturdy square stems, opposite leaves that are crinkly, and a menthol aroma when crushed.

If you mean identifying peppermint specifically, to distinguish between peppermint and spearmint and other mints, it gets a lot more tricky.

the flowers of the spearmint plant grow only on a terminal cluster, which is tapered. The blossoms of peppermint grow on a terminal, which is whorled rather than tapered. The leaves of Peppermint can be described as sharply toothed while those of spearmint are oblong, and lanced
https://www.helium.com/items/1189776-spe ... d-contrast

peppermint:
Image

spearmint:
Image

You can see that they look nearly identical, but if you look closely the teeth on the peppermint leaves are sharp, while on the spearmint leaf they are rounded. The flowers would probably be more distinguishable.

This site has a slide show of different mints:

https://herbs.lovetoknow.com/Slideshow:Types_of_Mint

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watermelonpunch
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Wow those look almost the same to me!

Can you tell the difference in smell as they grow? Does that happen at a certain point?

I like peppermint better than spearmint... But I'd describe the taste & smell as different in that the peppermint has a deeper bite, while spearmint is more almost sickly sweet & light.
Is this a general observation I have... or is it "a matter of taste" that would be non-viable as a universal identification method?

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Oh those pesky mints! This is from observation in my tiny place of the planet.

Peppermint has a purpley tinge, well hint of purple on the leaves and stems. When crushing a couple of leaves is peppermint. I have one group low growing/spready, another with upright stems. I need to find someone who wants the spready as I can't easily pick it for the farmers market (tieing stems in a bundle)

Mint, spearmint is all over the map. I have 3 varieties going now, looking very different.

Just for grins, I got out a blue speckle ware enamel tea kettle that I had put holes in for drainage. I put a big mint start in it, and figure this a fun centerpiece at the market.

gmp
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Hi thanks a lot for all the replies, I have grown mints from seeds and some are from market cuttings.

I love the green in rainbow gardener's peppermint and also I could see the sharp edges. I shall try to post few photos, then would be easy.


I thought the ones from the market cuttings are just mints. As susan said the market cuttings do have a purple tinge and also the sharp edges.

I hope atleast one plant is peppermint as I love it.

gmp
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this is the one I grew it from the stem from market. Can anyone help me please to find out what mint it is?
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RamonaGS
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gmp, that plant looks like orange mint. It's got a really sweet minty and citrusy smell and flavor. :) I found a web site with a good picture.

https://pantrygardenherbs.com/?attachment_id=11743

gmp
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RamonaGS wrote:gmp, that plant looks like orange mint. It's got a really sweet minty and citrusy smell and flavor. :) I found a web site with a good picture.

https://pantrygardenherbs.com/?attachment_id=11743
Thanks Ramona, But I don't think it is orange mint. because the leaves in the photo show that the edge is rounded. But mine not.

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RamonaGS
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So your plant has that toothy edge on it? Looked like smooth edges to me in the photo, but I admit that Lens Crafters here did a terrible job with my eye exam and lenses. My new glasses are terrible, LOL! Hmmm, how big are the leaves? smaller or larger than a quarter? Besides minty does the plant have another underlying fragrance you can distinguish? Also, does it have fuzzy or waxy leaves? I thought orange mint because in the photo it looks like it may have waxy leaves. If the leaves are fuzzy, it could be apple mint. That slide show of mints link has the wrong pic of apple mint, that's actually a photo of PINEAPPLE mint. Guessing it got mislabeled, LOL

gmp
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Ramona, may be you are right. It might be apple mint. The leaves are around 1 inch in length. Btw what do you mean by waxy, fuzzy. I don't understand. I could not smell anything distinct. There are two mint plants. one has a strong flavour and the other one is a bit mild.

imafan26
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The easiest way to test mints are to taste them.
Orange and lime mint look almost alike but taste very different
I find that spearmint is lighter green than peppermint and mine at least have bigger leaves. My peppermint leaves are not as bumpy as the spearmint and spearmint stems are greener.
Applemint and pineapple mint look alike. Pineapple mint has variegated leaves, but can revert to green leaves. The only way to tell these apart when that happens is to taste the mint
Corsican mint, very tiny. Used mostly for ground covers it does not taste very good at all.
Chocolate mint, looks a little like peppermint and also has dark stems like peppermint, but you can smell the chocolate when you cut or brush the leaves.

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applestar
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Here are my three mints:

Applemint:
Image

Peppermint:
Image

Spearmint:
Image

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RamonaGS
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Some mint varieties have fuzz on the leaves, like a peach has on it, and some are more smooth and without the fuzz, like a nectarine. That's what I was asking about. Sounds like the second mint in the photos is apple mint if it has a milder flavor to it. That's my favorite kind of mint, and it's pretty common.

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If you are taking cuttings from the market, note what they are! If you are at the farmers market or garden center taking cuttings from starts and can't remember, indicates you are browsing/snipping several that's a different issue. If you are starting from seed, is a dice roll as we have mentioned, especially with the flood of flavored mints.

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RamonaGS
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If you took your cuttings from a friend, could you ask them?

gmp
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Actually that's from the farmer's market. That's why I could not recognise what it is. I did not post the photo of mints that I have grown from the seed.

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RamonaGS
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gmp wrote:Actually that's from the farmer's market. That's why I could not recognise what it is. I did not post the photo of mints that I have grown from the seed.
You're lucky! I haven't been able to find mint seeds around here at all! I finally got a spearmint sprout/starter from farmer's market.

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PunkRotten
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I have peppermint, lemon balm, and sweet mint. My peppermint has smooth leaves and is not crinkly and hairy like the other mints.

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rainbowgardener
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peppermint has smooth leaves and is not crinkly and hairy like the other mints.

Are you sure it is peppermint then?

Here's another article about various mints:

https://www.growingherbsforbeginners.com ... any-mints/

it says orange and lemon mints have smoother leaves. I've never seen peppermint that wasn't heavily veined and somewhat crinkly looking.

gmp
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Now I came to a sad conclusion that I have not grown any peppermint. Thanks to all replies. However I love this mint also, tastes great, smells great. good green. Moreover I am very happy if I see her(my mint). :D

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PunkRotten
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RBG, my peppermint looks like the one pictured in the link you provided. I guess what I was trying to say was that it was not as crinkly as other mints. It also is slightly darker than my others.

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RamonaGS
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PunkRotten wrote:RBG, my peppermint looks like the one pictured in the link you provided. I guess what I was trying to say was that it was not as crinkly as other mints. It also is slightly darker than my others.
Hey Punk Rotten, Does your peppermint look like the picture that Applestar posted? Because that is what I remember peppermint looking like in my past experiences. I'm thinking mints may vary in their appearance. My spearmint this year looks a little different than it has previously. And if the leaves are shiny, smoother and slightly darker than the other mints, you might have chocolate mint. I actually has a slight chocolatey scent to it with the mint.

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PunkRotten
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Yes that is what it looks like.



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