Mentha ×gracilis

Scotch spearmint, Scotch Spearmint

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Scotch spearmint is a naturalized perennial found in the northern Coast Ranges, central Sierra Nevada, Central Valley, Central Coast, and Southern California in moist fields and low-elevation areas below 1,500 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces white to pink or violet flowers in small clusters. Growing with stems 30 to 100 centimeters tall that are generally smooth and upright, it forms dense clumps with spreading habit. Its leaves are ovate to lance-shaped, 1.5 to 6 centimeters long with serrated edges and tapered bases, creating a bright green aromatic foliage. The flower clusters emerge both from leaf axils and occasionally as terminal spike-like formations, giving the plant a delicate and intricate appearance.

Habitat: Moist places, fields

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, NCoRI, c SNH, GV, CCo, SCo, cultivated elsewhere

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.