Description
Mentha is a difficult genus, owing to morphological similarity, variability, and hybridization.
Potentially Misidentified Species - Mentha arvensis is native. Mentha xgracilis, or Red Mint, Small-Leafed Mint (=Mentha xcardiaca; Mentha xgentilis), is a hybrid (Mentha arvensis X Mentha spicata). Spearmint, Mentha spicata, is introduced; as is Peppermint, a cultivated artificial hybrid (Mentha xpiperita; Mentha spicata X Mentha aquatica) (Gleason 1963; Kartesz 1994).
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plantae | Magnoliophyta | Magnoliopsida | Lamiales | Lamiaceae | Mentha |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1864 | Established | Unknown | Introduced | Regular Resident | Europe | Eurasia | Shipping(Dry Ballast), Ornamental(Garden Escape) |
History of Spread
Mentha aquatica (Water Mint), a Eurasian native, was probably introduced early as a garden plant (Gleason 1963), but was not listed in Gray (1848). Canby's (1864) record from 'shores of Nanticoke River', 'near Seaford, Delaware' appears to be the first 'wild' record from North America (Gray 1867). It was reported from dry ballast at Philadelphia (Burk 1877) and New York (Brown 1879). Robinson and Fernald (1908) give its range (combining their M. aquatica with its synonym 'M. citrata') as Nova Scotia to DE; and west to OH and MI. By 1950 it ranged south to VA and west to MI and MO (Fernald 1950). Its current range is ME south to GA, west to WI and MO, and WA-CA on the Pacific coast (Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998). Mentha aquatica is found in the Hudson River valley and the Great Lakes basin (Mills et al. 1993; Mills et al. 1997).
It was listed for Baltimore by Sollers (1888). Tatnall (1946) reported Canby's record and a later one for 'Cheswold' (location unknown) in 1898. Shreve et al. (1910) describe it as 'locally abundant' on the Eastern Shore as do Brown and Brown (1984). Erlanson (1924) found it (as M. citrata) on 'low moist ground beside Jones' Mill pond, Williamsburg'. Harvill et al. (1992) list M. aquatica as a 'waif' from Montgomery County VA (in the Alleghenies), but give several records for 'M. citrata'. The current abundance of this plant seems to be unknown.
History Referencess - Brown 1879; Brown and Brown 1984; Burk 1877; Canby 1864; Erlanson 1924; Gleason 1963; Gray 1848; Gray 1867; Harvill et al. 1992; Mills et al. 1993; Mills et al. 1997; Robinson and Fernald 1908; Tatnall 1946
Invasion Comments
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | ||||
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||
| Oxygen | ||||
| pH | ||||
| Salinity Range | fresh-oligo |
Age and Growth
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Adult Size (mm) | 300.0 | 300.0 |
| Typical Adult Size (mm) | 450.0 | 450.0 |
| Maximum Adult Size (mm) | 600.0 | 600.0 |
| Maximum Longevity (yrs) | ||
| Typical Longevity (yrs |
Reproduction
| Start | Peak | End | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Season | |||
| Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
|||
| Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
| Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
|||
| Fertilization Type(s) | |||
| More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
| Reproductive Startegy | |||
| Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Mentha aquatica (Water Mint) appears to be rare overall in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but may be locally abundant on the Eastern shore of MD (Brown and Brown 1984). It has no reported impacts in tidal wetlands, but is probably grown in gardens as an ornamental and an herb.
References- Brown and Brown 1984
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Mentha aquatica (Watermint) appears to be rare overall in North American wetlands (Gleason 1963, Gleason and Cronquist 1991)). It has no reported impacts in tidal wetlands, but is grown in gardens as an ornamental and an herb (Gleason 1963).
References- Gleason 1963; Gleason and Cronquist 1991
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Mentha aquatica (Water Mint) appears to be rare overall in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but may be locally abundant on the Eastern shore of MD (Brown and Brown 1984). Impacts on native species have not been reported.
References- Brown and Brown 1984
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Mentha aquatica (Water Mint) appears to be rare overall in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but may be locally abundant on the Eastern shore of MD (Brown and Brown 1984). Impacts on other exotic species have not been reported.
References- Brown and Brown 1984
References
Brown, Addison (1879) Ballast plants in New York City and its vicinity, Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 6: 353-360Brown, Melvin L.; Brown, Russell G. (1984) Herbaceous Plants of Maryland, , College Park. Pp.
Burk, Isaac (1877) List of plants recently collected on ships' ballast in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia : 105-109
Canby, W. M. (1864) Notes of botanical visits to the lower part of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 16: 16-19
Erlanson, Eileen (1924) The flora of the Peninsula of Virginia, Papers of the Michigan Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters 4: 115-182
Gleason, Henry A. (1963) The new Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.
Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur (1991) Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , Bronx, New York. Pp.
Gray, Asa (1848) A manual of botany of the northern United States., In: (Eds.) . , Boston. Pp.
Gray, Asa (1867) A manual of botany of the northern United States., In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.
Harvill, A. M.; Bradley, Ted R.; Stevens, Charles E.; Wieboldt, Thomas F.; Ware, Donna M. E.; Ogle, Douglas W.; Ramsey, Gwynn W.; Fleming, Gary P. (1992) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Burkeville, VA. Pp.
Kartesz, John T. (1994) A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland., In: (Eds.) . , Portland OR. Pp.
Mills, Edward L.; Leach, Joseph H.; Carlton, James T.; Secor, Carol L. (1993) Exotic species in the Great Lakes: a history of biotic crises and anthropogenic introductions., Journal of Great Lakes Research 19: 1-54
Mills, Edward L.; Scheuerell, Mark D.; Carlton, James T.; Strayer, David (1997) Biological invasions in the Hudson River: an inventory and historical analysis., New York State Museum Circular 57: 1-51
1997-2024 USDA PLANTS Database.. Onine databse
Resource Management Inc. (1993) National list of plant species that occur in wetlands., , Minneapolis.. Pp.
Robinson, Benjamin Lincoln; Fernald, Merrit L. (1908) Gray's New Manual of Botany., , New York. Pp.
Shreve, Forrest M.; Chrysler, M. A.; Blodgett, Frederck H.; Besley, F. W. (1910) The Plant Life of Maryland, , Baltmore. Pp.
Simmons, Mark P.; Ware, Donna M.; Hayden, W. John (1995) The vascular flora of the Potomac River watershed of King George County, Virginia, Castanea 60: 179-209
Strong, Mark T.; Kelloff, Carol L. (1994) Intertidal vascular plants of Brent Marsh, Potomac River, Stafford County, Virginia, Castanea 59: 354-366
Stuckey, Ronald L.; Phillips, W. Louis (1970) Distributional history of Lycopus europaeus (European water-horehound) in North America, Rhodora 72: 351-369
Tatnall, Robert R. (1946) Flora of Delaware and the Eastern Shore, , Wilmington. Pp.