''Mentha'' × ''gracilis'' (syn. ''Mentha'' × ''gentilis'' L.; syn. ''Mentha cardiaca'' (S.F. Gray) Bak.) is a hybrid mint species within the genus ''Mentha'', a sterile hybrid between ''

Mentha arvensis ''Mentha arvensis'', the corn mint, field mint, or wild mint, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It has a circumboreal distribution, being native to the temperate regions of Europe and western and central Asia, east to ...

'' (cornmint) and ''

Mentha spicata Spearmint, also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is a species of Mentha, mint, ''Mentha spicata'' (, native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. I ...

'' (native spearmint). It is cultivated for its

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

, used to flavour spearmint chewing gum. It is known by the common names of gingermint, redmint and Scotchmint in Europe, and as Scotch spearmint in North America.

History

Gingermint is a naturally occurring hybrid indigenous throughout the overlapping native regions of cornmint and spearmint in Europe and Asia. It was first introduced to North America by a gardener in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

in 1908; due to the Scottish origin of the variety and its similarity in flavour to spearmint, it is known there as Scotch spearmint. From Wisconsin it spread as a crop throughout the

US midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

and later to the

Pacific northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

states of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, where the majority of global Scotch spearmint production is now concentrated. In 1990 it was brought from the Pacific Northwest to southern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

in Canada, which has become the second largest production region supplying about 25% of the North American market.

Cultivation

As a

sterile hybrid In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents (such as in ...

gingermint does not set seed; it is instead propagated by plant cuttings from the runners of healthy mints. It is most commonly cultivated for steam distillation of its essential oil. Production is concentrated in North America north of the 41st parallel; below the 40th parallel north summer day lengths are insufficiently long to produce quality essential oil. In the Pacific northwest Scotch spearmint oil, along with native spearmint oil, is protected by a

marketing board A marketing board is an organization created by many producers to try to market their product and increase consumption and thus prices. It can also be defined as an organization set up by a government to regulate the buying and selling of a certain ...

for farmers.Marketing Order Regulating the Handling of Spearmint Oil Produced in the Far West
/ref> In 2000, 89.4 tonnes of spearmint oil were produced in the US Midwest, 420.9 tonnes in the Pacific northwest, and 167.9 tonnes in Canada. An additional 10 tonnes were produced in India and limited quantities were produced in France and Argentina.

Diseases

Verticillium wilt Verticillium wilt is a wilt disease affecting over 350 species of eudicot plants. It is caused by six species of '' Verticillium'' fungi: ''V. dahliae'', ''V. albo-atrum'', ''V. longisporum'', ''V. nubilum'', ''V. theobromae'' and ''V. tricorp ...

is a major constraint in ''Mentha × gracilis'' cultivation.

Uses

Since the smell of ginger mint wards off rats and mice, it is placed in granaries to keep pests away from the grain. In North America, Scotch spearmint essential oil is used in flavouring chewing gum and candies. It is used as the traditional flavouring of Scotch mint candies. In Vietnamese cuisine the fresh herb is used as a flavouring in chicken or beef

pho Phở or pho (, , ; ) is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles (), herbs, and meat (usually beef (), sometimes chicken ()). Phở is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street stalls and restaurants ...

. As a medicinal herb it is used to treat fevers, headaches, and digestive ailments.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mentha gracilis gracilis Hybrid plants