I found some mint growing near a stream in northern Maine and was wondering exactly what it was. It smells and looks different than peppermint and spearmint (I have both). It does smell similar to peppermint, but there is a clear difference. It is square stemmed, with a moderate amount of hair on the stem. It looks very similar to many of the water mint pictures that I have seen, but I have also seen others such as the one found here: http://images.google.com/imgres?img...ica&start=20&ndsp=20&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N Those look quite different. I have attached some images including leaves, stems, and the whole plant in its very fancy polymer container. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!
Well, it would sure help. I don't think it's the only way to tell, but I think it'd require me to have a specimen in hand along with quality illustrations of leaf and stem characteristics - and then do it via the process of elimination. I do somewhat recall many Lamiaceae keys requiring fruiting characteristics. Unfortunately, there are no identification keys by smell!
Haha no scratch-and-sniff keys, huh? I'll wait until this little thing produces some flowers (which I'm guessing shouldn't be too long) and post pics when it does. Thanks!
I've got a book with a scent key to Thuja species so they do exist, but I don't have one for mints, unfortunately.
Here it is, copied out; my note in square brackets: OLFACTORY TABLE FOR Thuja SPECIES No scent: T. orientalis. [now Platycladus orientalis; dates from before this was widely considered distinct] Fruit-cake with almonds: T. koraiensis. Sweet, as in cheap sweets, lemony: T. standishii. Cooked apples, with cloves: T. occidentalis. Pineapple; crushing not needed: T. plicata. – A F Mitchell 1974, A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe.
Excellent -I could see that it would work as the smells are so different - not too dependent on subtle interpretation. Thanks Michael! BrianO
