Strange mint?

Yesterday I bought a mint plant with the intention of using it for cooking and tea. The tag only said "mint" and the only scientific name it gave was "menthe species." I was wondering if anyone could tell me what kind of mint this is? I'm worried that it may be pennyroyal, which from my understanding would not really be edible.

The leaves have a little hair on them, but I won't say they are fuzzy, and the stems are very vine-like.

I've included a photo of the plant and a close-up of the leaves.

Thanks in advance!
Kristina
Florida, USA

 

Kristina,

I do not know which mint this is, but it is definitely not Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium). Pennyroyal has rather narrow leaves which are either 'toothless' or with just a few rather shallow teeth. I am sure that your mint will be useable in cooking and in teas. You are right that Pennyroyal should not be used in large quantity, but is used here in Portugal in soups and stews (I hate it !!).

Ciao
BrianO

 

Thanks for your response, BrianO.

I went out to take another look at the leaves again this morning, and found that some leaves have deep teeth, some have no teeth at all, and some leaves are a longer, thinner shape. How is this possible? Some sort of hybrid from random mints? Are there usually those kind of variables in mints from the same species?

I've added a few more photos (and have learned not to buy if specifics aren't given).

 

Not sure which mint that is, but I'll agree with Brian that it's not Pennyroyal, the habit and leaves are wrong.

You should be able to allay your fears by crushing a few leaves and having a good sniff; if it smells mildly like Mint, you're good to go. Pennyroyal has a distinctly strong "pepperminty" smell, with sort of fishy hint to it. (at least to my nose.) Domestic mint, on the other hand, is less strong-smelling.

Of course, there's also the possibility that it's not Mentha species but some other Lamiaceae member. I've never seen mint that leggy; usually it's much more compact. The leaves remind me more of Thymus, really.

 

It did have a peculiar sort of minty smell, but I wouldn't call it overpoweringly strong.

 

Then it's not Pennyroyal. Mint away!

 

Thanks so much! I'm excited to use it.

 

Could be Satureja douglasii (yerba buena).

 

That looks...like it may very well be it...

 

It seems I may know if it is or not by the way it flowers. When, exactly, should I be expecting it to do that?

 

Could this mint be spearmint? I think my neighbor (in East Texas) had a spearmint that got awfully long and leggy. BUT, it would definitely smell like spearmint when you crush the leaves. It does have a square stem, doesn't it?

 

I haven't checked to see if the stem is square, but I can say with relative certainty that it is not spearmint. The crushed leaves don't smell anything like it.