Wild mint (Mentha longifolia) used as a treatment for colic, indigestion, pulmonary infections
Description of the plant :
Mentha longifolia (Wild mint) is traditionally used as a treatment for colic, menstrual disorders, indigestion, flatulence, pulmonary infections and congestion, headaches, fever, coughs, colds, and urinary tract infections. M. longifolia is also used to relieve swelling and treat sores and minor wounds of the skin.
Long-leaved mint is a polymorphous perennial herb.
This rhizomatous plant grows to a height of 30 to 120 cm.
The strongly branched square stems are 30 to 50 cm wide.
Mint's deciduous foliage consists of opposite leaves.
The oval to lanceolate leaves, which vary in colour, are 2 to 8 cm long and 0.5 to 3 cm wide.
Mentha longifolia leaves
With a coarsely toothed margin, the leaves are pubescent on the underside and have a whitish colouration.
The lower part of the sessile leaves is sparsely petiolate.
The inflorescence of the long-leaved mint is a terminal spike of small pink, mauve or white flowers.
The corolla is inserted without a hairy calyx.
Wild mint flowers give way to achenes.
Multiplication and cultivation of Long-leaved Mint
Mentha longifolia is a hardy rhizomatous herbaceous plant.
It can be grown in pots or in the open ground.
Peppermint should be grown in cool, well-drained, humus-rich soil in a sunny to semi-shady spot.
A basic manuring with compost guarantees good development of the long-leaved mint.
Potted Mentha longifolia grows well in a substrate amended with rich compost.
Longleaf Mint should be planted in autumn on dry land.
It can be planted from March to June or from autumn to October on damp, cold ground.
A hardy plant, care for Scotch Mint is limited to regular watering, especially in the evening, and cutting back the clumps at the end of flowering.
As it is a fast-growing species, it is advisable to mark out plots of land where Longleaf Mint is grown with bricks or tiles.
Mint leaves are harvested from May to October.
For essential oil production, the leaves are cut at 10% of flowering and then stored in windrows to dry.
Longleaf Mint is propagated mainly by sowing, taking cuttings and dividing clumps.
