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Mentha australis
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Posted by muezzin NSW Aust (My Page) on Sat, Jan 3, 04 at 5:30
| Anyone got River Mint/ Mentha australis?
I can't seem to find it anywhere.
Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Mentha australis
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| muezzin.. I have a mint which I took from a creek in the bush in the hills behind Adelaide. I've been told it's native, but I'm pretty certain it's peppermint gone wild. It actually fits the description of Mentha aquatica most closely, of which Mentha piperita is actually a hybrid. Do you have a detailed description of Mentha australis? |
RE: Mentha australis
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| Hi Jamus - Here is a description: "A small hairless to hairy herb, strongly aromatic when crushed. Its opposite leaves are 1.2-2.5 cm long, tapered at both ends, bright green on pale green stems and sometimes have sparsely toothed margins. Numerous flowers are situated in leaf forks, the 5 -lobed calyx is longitudinally striated, individual lobes are narrow and hairy inside; the corolla is white, 4-lobed and less than 8mm long. "Found near streams in semi-shae all over the mainland." I can send you a pic via email if you like. Regards
Adrian |
RE: Mentha australis
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| There's heaps of eau-de-Cologne mint growing in creeks in the Adelaide Hills - never seen native mint in SA, but would be interesting in obtaining some myself. |
RE: Mentha australis
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| Andy_SA .. I know about the eau-de-cologne in the creeks. Some creeks ie. at Morialta, have Mentha piperita (or aquatica) which is a much nicer mint. I don't think I've ever seen the native mint either but would love to get hold of some. |
RE: Mentha australis
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| Renaissance herbs list Native mint, Mentha australis on their catalogue. I know the South Australian franchise holders so I'll see if they can get one for me. |
RE: Mentha australis
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| Good one Jamus! Let me know how that goes. I might have a few orders to place too |
RE: Mentha australis
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| Hello all! I have a largish pot of mentha australis - bought as tubestock from kuranga native nursery. Happy to share some bits with you all,for sae or a swap, it roots easily like all mints even in water. I love this herb and use it alot (hence my id name) not only for cooking but for household cleaning products (homemade) and flea repellant for my menagerie. My specimen is not hairy at all, except for the fuzzy flowers similar but smaller than common mint. |
RE: Mentha australis
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Jamus and Andy,
there is mint native to the Adelaide region, it is mentha dimenica and grows in damp shady areas, it has quite small, pungent leaves, smelling like a cross between true mint and penny royal. I believe it has a conservation rating in our region. It is illustrated in Plants of the Adelaide Plains and Hills (Dashorst and Jessop), the illustration suggests much smaller leaves than the introduced mints, with no obvious serration, it also highlights a square stem cross-section. I have seen this plant growing wild and it resembles penny-royal more than anything else.
I won't pretend that I'm not appalled that you should remove this plant from the bush.....the removal of any native plant (rare or otherwise) from the wild without a permit is illegal in this state, the collection of seed also requires a permit. mudlark |
RE: Mentha australis
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- Posted by Andy_SA South Australia (My Page) on
Sun, Mar 21, 04 at 4:12
Nobody's talking about removing a native plant from the bush. Personally, I only buy native plants from bona fide nurseries.
The info you've given us is quite interesting, and I shall certainly be looking out for this plant. Thank you, Mudlark. |
RE: Mentha australis
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| Just to clarify, my last comment was in reference to this: On Jan 4, 2004 Jamus wrote: "I have a mint which I took from a creek in the bush in the hills behind Adelaide. I've been told it's native......" Andy, I'm sorry if what I wrote implied it was you. Most people are unaware of the laws re. native vegetation, and sometimes those laws don't make a lot of sense, but in the case of rare or threatened plants this particular legislation is fundamental to the protection of those plants in the wild. Personally, I would like to see a system set up where people are liscensed to propagate rare plants, so that we could all enjoy them in our own gardens AND in the wild. respectfully, mudlark |
RE: Mentha australis
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| Mudlark. I was never under the impression that this mint was native. I consider it most likely to be Mentha aquatica, escaped from cultivation of peppermint and it now occurs widely throughout the waterways in Adelaide, along with apple mint and eau-de-cologne mint. I have never seen native mint growing in the bush in Adelaide, to spite spending many many hours crawling on hands and knees through damp gullies. I hope it still occurs somewhere, but I doubt it. |
RE: Mentha australis
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| Jamus, the good news it that it is still out there!! In fact where it does occur it appears to be doing quite well. I can imagine that from where I have seen it growing it could survive fairly happily under blackberry infestations....so hopefully there is more out there than we realise. Most people I know who have come across it have been doing bush regeneration, working on blackberry and noticed the smell first, then identified its source as this very delicate little plant, I am 'looking after' a little patch that was found in this way. cheers, mudlark |
RE: Mentha australis
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Muezzin,
Not sure if you finally got the river mint. I have some growing beside my dam which I bought from a local native nursery. It's not evident now but it pops up in late spring and does not get big and thick like the usual mint. In fact the leave look almost like thyme. The scent is unique I think. Not at all pungent like peppermint. I can see why rivermint likes it. If you still haven't obtained it, contact me and I'll see if the clumps reappear in spring and perhaps get some to you. |
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