Mentha spicata

Common name: peppermint, spearmint. garden mint

Description

Aromatic, annual plant, belonging to the Mentha Genus and the Lamiaceae Family. Widely used as a culinary condiment and for its aromatic properties. With serrated, glabrous leaves, hairy on the underside.

The flowers have a calyx with five approximately equal sepals and a glabrous throat. It has an invasive root system with a great capacity for growth and propagation

Cultivation

It has been cultivated and used since Roman times, as designated by some documents of the time.

It can be grown in the ground and also, if you do not have land, you can grow them on practical cultivation tables that, properly conditioned with a suitable and balanced substrate, will allow you to take care of your vegetables in an ergonomic and simple way.

Basil requires moderate watering, increasing it during the summer.

It is necessary to remove the leaves and bunches of dry flowers, to promote their growth. It is a plant that regrows very well and, therefore, the removal of leaves and stems favors its development.

Multiplication

It is a plant that multiplies through its roots without any intervention. If we want to cut it, we will take a stem with roots and place it for growth in another pot or tray.

Applications

The most common way to use mint is by making an infusion with its leaves. In this way, it helps to treat indigestion problems, intestinal gas and inflammation of the liver, it acts on the gallbladder as it activates the production of bile, it also relieves dizziness and pain. It is also used as a culinary condiment in Mediterranean cuisine. Mentha spicata or peppermint leaves are also used to make one of the most popular cocktails, the Cuban mojito, and to flavor dishes such as puchero, from Andalusia. The infusion of mint tea is the well-known Moorish tea.