E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Mentha aquatica L.
water mint (lemon mint)
Lamiaceae (Mint family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Mentha aquatica
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a creeping rhizome; stems erect, 15-90 cm tall, simple or branched, 4-angled; strongly lemon-scented, but not pungent.

Leaves:
Opposite, usually egg-shaped, 2-6 (9) cm long, 1-4 cm wide, more or less hairy, toothed, tips pointed or rounded, bases wedge-shaped to somewhat lobed; stalked.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of a terminal head of 1 to 3 flower clusters and usually 1 to 3 axillary flower clusters below; lower bracts leaf-like, upper lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, hidden by the flowers; flower stalks hairy; corollas tubular, light purple, 4-lobed, the lobes nearly equal; calyces bell-shaped, nearly equally 5-toothed, hairy.

Fruits:
Nutlets, 4 clustered together, egg-shaped.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Wet to moist riverbanks and shorelines in the lowland zone; rare in SW BC, known only from the lower Fraser Valley; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Mentha piperi var. citrata (Ehrh.) Boivin (pro nm.)
Mentha aquatica var. crispa (L.) Benth.
Mentha citrata
Mentha crispa L.
Mentha dumetorum Schult.
Mentha piperata subsp. citrata
Mentha piperita subsp. citrata (Ehrh.) Briq.
Mentha var. citrata

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-04-16 4:19:30 PM ]

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