Editing Peppermint (section)

==Botany==
[[File:Mentha-piperita.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Peppermint flowers]]
[[File:Mentha × piperita - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-095.jpg|thumb|right|200px|An 1887 illustration from Köhlers;'' Medicinal Plants'']]

Peppermint was first identified in Hertfordshire, England, by a Dr. Eales, a discovery which John Ray published 1696 in the second edition of his book ''Synopsis Methodica Stirpium Britannicarum''. He initially gave it the name ''Mentha spicis brevioribus et habitioribus, foliis Mentha fusca, sapore fervido piperis'' and later in his 1704 volume ''Historia Plantarum'' he called it ''Mentha palustris'' or Peper–Mint. The plant was then added to the London ''Pharmacopoeia'' under the name ''Mentha piperitis sapore'' in 1721.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ray |first=John |title=Synopsis Methodica Stirpium Britannicarum |year=1696 |pages=234}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Flückiger |first=Friedrich August |title=Pharmacographia: A History of the Principal Drugs of Vegetable Origin, met with in Great Britain and British India |publisher=Macmillan |year=1874 |pages=481–2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bacon |first=F. J. |date=1928 |title=The Botanical Origin of American Peppermint—Mentha Piperita L* |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0898140X15367884 |journal=The Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association (1912) |language=en |volume=17 |issue=11 |pages=1094–1096 |doi=10.1002/jps.3080171108 |issn=0898-140X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Porter |first=C. L. |date=1951 |title=The History of Mentha piperita and Its Economic Importance in Indiana |url=https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ias/article/download/5809/5793 |journal=Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science |volume=61 |pages=364–268}}</ref> 

It was given the name ''Mentha piperita'' in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in his ''Species Plantarum'' Volume 2.<ref name="cl">Linnaeus, C. (1753). ''[[Species Plantarum]]'' 2: 576–577.</ref>  Linnaeus treated peppermint as a [[species]], but it is now universally agreed to be a hybrid between ''Mentha viridis'' and ''Mentha aquatica'' with ''Mentha viridis'' itself also being a hybrid between ''Mentha sylvestris'' and ''Mentha rotundifolis''.<ref name=harley>Harley, R. M. (1975). ''Mentha'' L. In: [[Stace, C. A.]], ed. ''Hybridization and the flora of the British Isles'' page 387.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wong |first=Warren |title=The Changes that Occur in Peppermint Oil During Aging, Including the Relationship Between Changes in Chemical Composition and Flavor Characteristics |publisher=Ph.D. dissertation. Rutgers |year=1972 |pages=10}}</ref>

Peppermint is an [[herbaceous]], rhizomatous, [[perennial plant]] that grows to be {{convert|30|-|90|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall, with smooth stems, square in cross section. The [[rhizome]]s are wide-spreading and fleshy, and bear fibrous [[root]]s. The [[leaf|leaves]] can be {{convert|4|-|9|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1.5|-|4|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} broad. They are dark green with reddish veins, with an acute apex and coarsely toothed margins. The leaves and stems are usually slightly fuzzy. The [[flower]]s are purple, {{convert|6|-|8|mm|in|frac=16|abbr=on}} long, with a four-lobed [[Corolla (flower)|corolla]] about {{convert|5|mm|in|frac=16|abbr=on}} diameter; they are produced in whorls (verticillasters) around the stem, forming thick, blunt spikes. 

Flowering season lasts from mid- to late summer. The [[chromosome]] number is variable, with 2n counts of 66, 72, 84, and 120 recorded.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oilsesense.com/pages/mentha-x-piperita-peppermint-flora-of-northwest-europe|title=Mentha x piperita - Peppermint - Flora of Northwest Europe|date=2014|access-date=29 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229212600/https://oilsesense.com/pages/mentha-x-piperita-peppermint-flora-of-northwest-europe|archive-date=29 December 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=rhs>Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-333-47494-5}}.{{Page needed|date=November 2010}}</ref><ref name=blamey>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. {{ISBN|0-340-40170-2}}{{Page needed|date=November 2010}}</ref> Peppermint is a fast-growing plant, spreading quickly once it has sprouted.