''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'' (cornmint) and '' Mentha spicata'' (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 ...

, 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 U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

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 and later to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (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 no official boundary exists, the most common ...

states of Washington,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, 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 a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

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

Cultivation

As a sterile hybrid 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 Following are circles of latitude between the 35th parallel north and the 40th parallel north: 36th parallel north The 36th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 36 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, t ...

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 certai ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mentha gracilis gracilis Hybrid plants