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Lamiaceae FAMILY

Mentha longifolia

Mentha longifolia

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

Although no records of toxicity have been seen for this species, large quantities of some members of this genus, especially when taken in the form of the extracted essential oil, can cause abortions so some caution is advised.

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Mentha longifolia is a moderately cold-hardy plant, able to tolerate temperatures down to around -20°c when fully dormant[1]. An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils and situations so long as the soil is not too dry[2, 1]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. A sunny position is best for production of essential oils, but the plants also succeed in partial shade. Mentha longifolia is a very varable species and is generally treated as comprising several varieties and subspecies. Botanists often do not agree with each other over the best way to treat the species, but the following list of subspecies are generally accepted. They can vary quite widely from each other in the composition of essential oils, and therefore the flavour, aroma and specific uses of the plants, but generally have more or less similar uses. Mentha longifolia var amphilema Briq. ex Rech.f. Native to western Asia, found in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq. Mentha longifolia var asiatica (Boriss.) Rech.f. Native to southwestern and central Asia to Himalayan regions of China. Mentha longifolia var austroafghanica Rech.f. Native only to Afghanistan. Mentha longifolia subsp calliantha (Stapf) Briq. Native to western Asia, found in eastern Turkey and northern Iran. This is not always seen as distinct and is sometimes included in Mentha longifolia typhoides. Mentha longifolia subsp capensis (Thunb.) Briq. Native to southern Africa, found from southern Namibia and southern Zimbabwe to the Cape. Mentha longifolia subsp caucasica Briq. Restricted, as the name implies, to the Caucasus where it is both native and cultivated. Mentha longifolia var chlorodictya Rech.f. Native to southwest Asia in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Transcaucasus and Turkmenistan Mentha longifolia subsp hymalaiensis Briq. Native to the Himalayas from Afghanistan through Pakistan and western India to Nepal. Mentha longifolia var kermamensis Rech.f. Native only to Iran. Mentha longifolia var kotschyana (Boiss.) Briq. Native to southwest Asia in eastern Turkey and Iran. Mentha longifolia subsp longifolia Widely spread through Europe and Russia to western Siberia, Himalayas, northern and eastern Africa. Mentha longifolia subsp minutiflora (Borbás ex A. Kern.) Briq. Native to Europe, where it is found in Hungary, Mecedonia and Greece. Mentha longifolia var muqarrabica Shinwari & Chaudhri. Native to Pakistan. Mentha longifolia subsp noeana (Briq.) Briq.Native to Turkey. Mentha longifolia var petiolata Boiss. Southwest Asia from northern Iraq to northern and western Iran. Mentha longifolia subsp polyadenia (Briq.) Briq. Native to southeastern southern Africa. Mentha longifolia var schimperi (Briq.) Briq.Western Asia - Egypt (Sinai), Saudi Arabia. Mentha longifolia var swatica Shinwari & Chaudhri. E. Asia - Pakistan Mentha longifolia subsp typhoides (Briq.) Harley. Eastern Mediterranean to Iran. Mentha longifolia subsp wissii (Launert) Codd. Southern Africa, Namibia, S. Africa Sometimes cultivated for its leaves, there are some named varieties[3]. Most mints have fairly aggressive spreading roots and, unless you have the space to let them roam, they need to be restrained by some means such as planting them in containers that are buried in the soil[PFAF]. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. The whole plant has a mint-like aroma. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination is usually fairly quick. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Mentha species are very prone to hybridisation and so the seed cannot be relied on to breed true. Even without hybridisation, seedlings will not be uniform and so the content of medicinal oils etc will vary. When growing plants with a particular aroma it is best to propagate them by division[PFAF]. Division can be easily carried out at almost any time of the year, though it is probably best done in the spring or autumn to allow the plant to establish more quickly. Virtually any part of the root is capable of growing into a new plant. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. However, for maximum increase it is possible to divide the roots up into sections no more than 3cm long and pot these up in light shade in a cold frame. They will quickly become established and can be planted out in the summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Mentha+longifolia>

Pollinators

Bees, Lepidoptera, Insects

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  4. [4]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  5. [5]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  6. [6]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  7. [7]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  8. [8]Herbs of Greece. — Niebuhr. A. D. · Herb Society of America. · 1970 · ISBN - ↩︎A pleasant little book about Greek herbs.
  9. [9]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  11. [11]Herbs — Phillips. R. & Foy. N. · Pan Books Ltd. London. · 1990 · ISBN 0-330-30725-8 ↩︎Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.
  12. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎