Water Mint

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Video: Water Mint

Video: Water Mint
Video: водяная мята 2024, March
Water Mint
Water Mint
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Water mint (lat. Mentha aquatica) Is an aquatic plant from the Lamiaceae family.

Description

Water mint is a perennial that can grow up to ninety centimeters high. The stems of this plant, which are square in cross-section, are distinguished by extraordinary hairiness. The oval leaves of water mint are one to four centimeters wide, and their length ranges from two to six centimeters. Sometimes these pubescent rounded leaves can acquire a subtle reddish tint. And if you rub them properly in your hands, you can feel the characteristic mint aroma.

The tiny flowers of the water mint cluster into fluffy, miniature, umbellate inflorescences and boast a delightful pale lilac color. Such flowers are especially loved by bees. As a rule, water mint pleases with its flowering from mid-summer until the very end. And its fruits consist of four single-seeded nut-like parts.

Where grows

Water mint is quite widespread in central Russia (here it is considered the most common marsh plant) and in Europe. You can also meet it in North-West Africa or South-West Asia. It grows mainly near swamps with rivers and ponds with streams. She feels no worse on well-moistened soils.

Usage

Most of the basic properties of watermint are similar to those of peppermint, as the latter is essentially a hybrid of spearmint with watermint. Water mint can also be used as a medicinal plant and as an excellent spice and aromatic additive to various drinks and dishes. This aquatic beauty boasts a relatively low content of essential oils and an impressive amount of menthol.

In folk medicine, this plant is used for stagnation in the gallbladder, as well as for tachycardia, diarrhea, flatulence and insufficiently active digestive process. For internal use, a special infusion is prepared from it. And externally, water mint is used in the form of ointments - they treat cervical erosion or apply them to poorly healing wounds.

Water mint is also used for herbal baths, as well as for scaring away mice with rats and numerous pests. It is also perfect for decorating the shores of various reservoirs - with its help you can even mask them.

Growing and caring

Water mint is endowed with the ability to root well and grow quickly enough. And so that it does not become an obstacle to the crops growing in the neighborhood, it is best to grow it in compact baskets, systematically shortening the stretching stems. In the ground, it is planted, as a rule, in containers, and the most optimal planting depth for this plant is eight to ten centimeters.

As for soils, water mint prefers moisture-absorbing, humus-rich, acidic and rather loose soil. And this moisture-loving beauty is planted in the fall or in the spring. In care, water mint is quite unpretentious, and, although in general it is a very light-loving crop, it also tolerates light partial shade quite well. By the way, it is recommended to renew its thickets every three to four years.

If water mint grows in the open field, it does not hurt to feed it with organic fertilizers (compost or manure) from time to time.

This plant propagates by dividing the bushes in the spring. In general, the reproduction of water mint can occur by layering, by dividing the rhizomes, as well as by trimming the roots and cuttings of the stems.

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