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Names and plant

Apple mint is also called pineapple mint, woolly mint or round-leafed mint. Its synonyms include M. rotundifolia, Mentha macrostachya and Mentha insularis. The plant is a herbaceous, upright perennial that is most commonly grown as a culinary herb or for ground cover.

Description

Apple mint typically grows 40 to 100 centimetres tall and spreads by stolons to form clonal colonies. The foliage is light green, with opposite, wrinkled, sessile leaves that are oblong to nearly ovate. The leaves are somewhat hairy on top and downy underneath, with serrated edges. The flowers develop in terminal spikes of whorls of white or pinkish flowers, and the plant flowers in mid to late summer.

Origin and distribution

Apple mint is native to southern and western Europe, including the Mediterranean region. It is naturalised in central and northern parts of Europe and is found in damp and wet locations. The subspecies timija, an endemic Moroccan variety, has evergreen foliage and thrives along rivers in plains and mountains.

Cultivars and hybrids

Mentha suaveolens hybridizes with other Mentha species, for example Mentha × villosa with spearmint, Mentha × rotundifolia with Mentha longifolia and Mentha × suavis with Mentha aquatica. The cultivar 'Mojito' (M. suaveolens var. crispa) has curled leaves and mauve-pink flowers. Grapefruit mint, a hybrid derived from the pineapple mint cultivar, is Mentha suaveolens × piperata.

Chemistry

Piperitenone oxide is an oxygenated monoterpene. Piperitone oxide and piperitenone oxide are the major components in some chemotypes of the essential oil. Other chemotypes show a high percentage of alcohols such as menthol, or of ketones such as pulegone, piperitenone and dihydrocarvone. Three profiles of the oil have been defined: the first is rich in pulegone, the second in piperitenone oxide, and the third contains similar quantities of piperitenone oxide and piperitone oxide.

Plant material from Azrou, Tetouan and Meknès in Morocco confirmed the prevalence of piperitenone oxide, at 74.69%, 41.84% and 34% respectively. In oils from Béni-Mellal and Boulmane, pulegone (85.5%) and menthol (40.50%) are the major compounds. Wild plants from the Tarquinia forests in Italy gave an oil with more than 90% piperitenone oxide, with limonene and 1,8-cineole among the minor constituents.

Cultivation and uses

Apple mint is hardy and easy to grow, preferring full sun to lightly shady conditions. It is often used as an ornamental plant. Among mints grown commercially, apple mint is a more recent addition. The leaves can be used to make apple mint jelly and as a flavouring in dishes such as apple mint couscous. They are also often used to make mint tea, as a garnish or in salads.

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Related: Lesser Calamint · Menthol · Mint · Spearmint