About Mentha canadensis L.
Mentha canadensis L. is a perennial mint species with an underground creeping rhizome and upright, highly branched shoots. It reaches a maximum height of roughly 60 centimeters (24 inches). Its finely hairy stems bear leaves arranged in opposite pairs; each leaf grows on a short stalk, has a wedge-shaped base, is lanceolate or ovate, with toothed edges and a hairy surface. Flowers grow in spikes at the tips of shoots, and may be bluish, pink, or white. They are arranged in a spiral around the inflorescence. Each flower has five sepals, four petals, four stamens, and a superior ovary. When ripe, the dry fruit splits open to release two seeds. Mentha canadensis is a native mint found across the world. In temperate and tropical Asia, it is native to East Asia including China, Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku), and Korea; the Russian Far East including the Kurile Islands, Khabarovsk, Primorye, Amur, and Sakhalin; Siberia including Buryatia, Tuva, Yakutia-Sakha, Krasnoyarsk, Chita, and Irkutsk; the Indian Subcontinent including India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka; Indo-China including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam; and Malesia including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In North America, it is native to Eastern Canada including Quebec, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland; North-Central U.S. including Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; Northeastern U.S. including Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia; Northwestern U.S. including Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming; South-Central U.S. including New Mexico and Texas; Southeastern U.S. including Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia; Southwestern U.S. including Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah; Subarctic America including Canada's Northwest Territory and Yukon, and Alaska in the U.S.; and Western Canada including Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, and British Columbia. This species is cultivated across the globe: in Africa it is grown in Angola, South Africa, and the Seychelles; in Asia it is grown in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, Thailand, and New Zealand; in North America it is grown in Mexico and the United States; and in South America it is grown in Brazil, Cuba, and Argentina. It is grown in Hungary to produce essential oil and menthol. It contains a significant amount of pulegone. When pinched or crushed, its leaves release a distinct peppermint smell due to aromatic oils the plant produces. Leaves can be harvested at any point during growth and may be dried. They are used to make mint jelly, mint tea, and mint leaf candy. First Nations peoples use mint tea from this plant to treat bad breath, toothache, or hiccups. It may also be used as bait for fox or lynx. The essential oil from this mint is proven effective as an insect repellent for insects such as Drosophila melanogaster. One of the most important essential oils used in medicine is Japanese mint oil derived from this species. Compared to other mint species, Mentha canadensis is rich in natural menthol, which is widely used in many pharmaceutical preparations. In 1998, the world produced approximately 4000 tons of Japanese mint oil and 2000 tons of menthol from this species, with major producing countries being Brazil, Paraguay, Taiwan, Japan, China, India, and Thailand.
