Mentha suaveolens, Ehrh.

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1972, Flora Europaea. Volume 3. Diapensiacea to Myoporaceae, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press : 185

11. M. suaveolens Ehrh. , Beitr. Naturk. 7: 149 (1792)

(AT. rotundifolia auct., non (L.) Hudson, AT. macrostachya Ten., AT. insularis Req. ).

Perennial 40-100 cm, with sickly sweet scent. Stem sparsely hairy to densely white-tomentose. Leaves (15—)30— 45 x (10-)20-40 mm, sessile or very shortly petiolate, strongly rugose, ovate-oblong to suborbicular, obtuse, cuspidate or rarely acute, widest near the base, serrate, with 10-20 teeth, often apparently crenate due to the teeth being bent down towards the underside of the leaf, hairy above, usually grey- or white-tomentose to -lanate beneath, the hairs on the lower surface branched, with the basal cell 43-57 p m in diameter. Verticillasters many, usually congested, forming a terminal spike 40-90 x 5-10 mm, often interrupted below and usually branched. Calyx 1-2 mm, campanulate, hairy; teeth subequal. Pedicels hairy. Corolla whitish or pink. Fertile anthers 0-28-0-38 mm. Nutlets 0-57-0-75 mm. 2« = 24. S. & W. Europe, northwards to the Netherlands; cultivated as a pot-herb, and naturalized in N. & C. Europe. *A1 Az Be BI Br Co Cr Ga Ge G r He Ho Hs It Lu Sa Si *Tu [Au Cz Da Hb Ju Po Rm Su].

Plants from mountains on some islands of the western part of the Mediterranean region have been described as M. insularis Req. , Gior. Bot. Ital. 2: 111, 115 (1846). They are sparsely hairy, with ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate, shortly petiolate or sessile, often acute leaves with an undulate margin. These characters however occur sporadically in other populations, so that the plants seem insufficiently distinct to merit subspecific status. They have 2« = 24. M. x rotundifolia (L.) Hudson , FZ. Angl. 221 (1762) ( M. niliaca Juss. ex Jacq. , AT. amaurophylla Timb.-Lagr., AT. nouletiana Timb.-Lagr., AT. timbalii Rouy, AT. villosa auct., non Hudson) ( M. longifolia* suaveolens ), with 2« = 24, is extremely variable, showing a wide range of characters intermediate between the parents. It is a frequent and highly fertile hybrid which can form introgressive swarms where its parents grow together. It is very rarely found in cultivation but often persists in the absence of the parents. It is frequently confused with M. x villosa . M. x villosa Hudson , Fl. Angl. ed. 2, 250 (1778) ( Af. cordifolia auct.,? an Opiz, M. gratissima Weber , M. lamyi Malinv. , M. mosoniensis H. Braun , M. nemorosa Willd. , M. niliaca auct., non Juss. ex Jacq., M. scotica R. A. Graham ) ( A/. spicata * suaveolens ), a highly sterile hybrid with 2n = 36, is widely naturalized and also probably often arises spontaneously. It is morphologically extremely diverse, both hairy and glabrous plants being frequent, these ranging from plants almost indistinguishable from 14 to others very similar to 11. Many of these have been given taxonomic recognition and some have spread clonally to become locally common. M. x villosa Hudson nm. alopecuroides (Hull) (A/, alopecuroides Hull, M. velutina Lej. ), with 2« = 36, is often confused with 11, but it is more robust, 60-140 cm, and has a sweet scent like 14; middle cauline leaves 40-80 x 30-60 mm, broadly ovate or orbicular, softly hairy, the margin with patent teeth; verticillasters forming a robust spike 10-12 mm wide; calyx 2 mm; corolla pink. It was formerly much cultivated and is widely naturalized in W. Europe.