''Mentha micrantha'', is a plant species in the genus ''
Mentha'', native to western
Kazakhstan and southeastern
Russia. The species was described in 1890 by
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
George Bentham.
Its
epithet
An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
, ''micrantha'', means "with small flowers." It is unique among its genus as the only species that is an
annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...
.
Taxonomy
The proper classification of ''Mentha micrantha'' is contentious. Several taxonomy references, such as
Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...
and the
Global Biodiversity Information Facility, accept it as a distinct species.
A 2006 treatment of the genus ''Mentha'' however asserted it to be a variety of ''
Mentha pulegium''.
Where treated as distinct, ''M. micrantha'' has been considered to belong to the
section ''Pulegium'' within the ''Mentha'' genus. This section associates it with plants such as ''M. pulegium'' as well as ''
Mentha gattefossei
''Mentha gattefossei'' is a plant species in the genus ''Mentha'', endemic to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. It was first described by French botanist René Maire in 1922. Harvested for its essential oil, ''M. gattefossei'' has seen use in tradi ...
''.
Description
''Mentha micrantha'' is a small annual plant, growing erect, branched, square-shaped stems measuring from 12 to 30 centimeters high. Its leaves are almost
entire, oblong or
ovate
Ovate may refer to:
*Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts
*Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe
*Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd
*Vates
In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovat ...
in shape. It flowers in
verticillaster
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed on ...
s 7 to 12 millimeters in length, producing bi-labiate
corolla
Corolla may refer to:
*Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit
*Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name
* Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown
* ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...
s, pink, rose-lilac or purple in color.
Distribution
''Mentha micrantha'' is distributed throughout southeast Russia and western to central Kazakhstan. It occupies
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...
areas and
sinkholes. It is a
hygrophyte, preferring wet soil conditions.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Mentha micrantha (Fisch. ex Benth.) Heinr.Braun-
holotype images at
JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mentha micrantha
micrantha
Herbs
Flora of the North Caucasus
Flora of South European Russia
Flora of Kazakhstan
Plants described in 1890